There's Always a Reason
by KellyBallerina
Summary: What will it take to mend a broken marriage?  Sometimes all you need is to remember why you fought for love in the first place.  Leyton story of how love can be lost, saved, and renewed.  AU season eight
1. Chapter One

**Believe it or not, the idea of this story came to me in a dream. It was insane and a mess, but then again, your subconscious is never very clear. I can't imagine what my subconscious must be trying to tell me if I dream as a character of One Tree Hill. I'm thinking just that I stay up too late watch One Tree Hill episodes.**

**I have the next two chapters already written, and they will be quite a lot longer. This is more just an introduction. I want to see what kind of reaction I can get from this before I right much more. Basically, I am in high school, and I want to be a writer one day. I want to get feedback on my writing and style and general quality on things that don't belong to me at all. I have a few beginnings of novels written, but I don't want to publish them online because they no longer belong to me then. So I would really appreciate it if you would take even just a few seconds to leave a couple words of a review. Tell me anything you want. If this sucks, if you love it, if you think you know where it's going, if you have an idea of where it should go, let me know.**

**This story is somewhat an alternate universe. It is primarily a Peyton and Lucas story, but it follows the regular timelines. Nathan and Haley are together, as are Brooke and Julian, Clay and Quinn, and the Chase, Alex, and Mia love triangle is still true. This takes place in what would be season eight. Everybody's stories are the same except for Lucas and Peyton. They left Tree Hill at the end of season six, but returned a year later with their now one year old daughter. This takes place a year later, when both Lucas and Peyton have gotten much too used to being the suburban couple, and their marriage begins to fall apart because of it.**

**(My author's notes will not normally be this long. Don't worry.)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill.**

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Tree Hill is just one place in the world. To some it was home, to some it was just a place to pass through. Maybe it is a lot like every other small town in the world, maybe it is very different. The only truth in Tree Hill is that everyone there is exactly where they need to be. There is always a reason to be in Tree Hill.

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The first thing she noticed was the air. As she stepped off the plane, her black high heels clicking with every step, she took in the fresh, crisp air. It was the kind you can only breathe on a summer morning, and only in a small, suburban town. New York was fast paced, busy, and everything she had ever wanted, but she always had a special place in her heart for this quaint, North Carolinian town. It wasn't home, but it had always been the next best thing.

She reached the baggage claim, following the small crowds of happiness. Families were coming home to be reunited; children were going off on adventures. She grabbed her Louis Vitton suitcase from the conveyer belt, and headed out to the parking lot.

This was by no means unfamiliar to her; she just had not been here in quite a few years. As she walked through the decently recognizable corridors she looked for changes in her surroundings, and all of the things that were still the same, the things that proved to her that the world had not completely flipped over in the past few years.

The moment she stepped out of the airport doors, she instantly felt calmer. Some things really hadn't changed, though. The parking lot, the trees, the fresh air scent, it was all still the exact same. She was also immediately reminded of the Carolinian wind. She haphazardly pulled her long brunette curls into a messy ponytail as she waited for her ride to show up.

Even though New York was, and always had been, home to her, a piece of her heart always wanted to be here. It was the first place she would call to when her heart broke, the place she ran to when she was afraid. It was where she had met her first love, had her first kiss, her first time, and her first heart break. As much as she loved the city, this was the only place she truly felt safe, loved, and, most importantly, happy.

It was kind of funny how it took being here, taking in the smell, the sounds, and the familiar sights, to really realize just how much she had missed this. She missed her cousins, and all of the people who had helped her grow up. She even missed the lumpy, uncomfortable couch at her cousin's house. And there were so many things that she had missed while she was away. She didn't get to be around for the birth of her baby cousin, she wasn't around when her cousin's marriage began to fall apart. She wasn't around to visit her aunt in the cemetery.

That's why she was returning. She had plenty of lost time to make up for. She wanted to be somebody that her baby cousin looked up to, someone for her other cousin to lean on. She wanted to help mend the relationships of the people that she loved. New York was nice and all, but the size was beginning to get to her. She wanted to make up for all of the things she had missed in the small town while she was out in the city, making a name for herself.

She also had to get away. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she was running from her disappointment. Heartbreak had sent her packing from New York, at least for a little while. And then there were her parents. To them she was just a pawn in their divorce settlement, although she had been legally an adult for quite some time.

So, she did what she always did when she was at a loss. She hopped on the first plane to North Carolina. She didn't know who she would be without Tree Hill.

**

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My next chapter will be up in the next day or two, depending on the feedback I receive and how much I want to change. I would love replies. If you liked it and want to read more, the more replies I get, the sooner I will probably have the next chapter up. I don't by any means write to get reviews. It will simply help me know what I am doing right or wrong.**

**Reply with who you think the character is.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter Two

**Thank you so much for all of the feedback I got on chapter one. It means the world to me that my writing is actually being read by somebody other than the voices in my head. I have a very special thanks to my reviewers. Bendecida82, , citigirl13, kit147, grayfan, Bee, Abigail, and Hannah, you guys are the best.**

**This chapter is a lot longer. I don't usually do the whole five hundred word chapter thing. My chapters are usually closer to two thousand words. The previous one was more of an introduction to my story. Here is where the story starts.**

**I will try my best to have my next chapter up in the next few days, but next week is exam week, and I am cramming like crazy. Please bear with me. I will update as soon as I possibly can. Writing is, after all, the best way to procrastinate, and study I suppose, for an English exam.**

**I received one correct guess of who the character was. Congratulations.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill.**

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She grinned to herself as her cousin's car pulled up in front of her, the car that a book had been created around. It's kind of funny just how much turmoil the name of that car had caused. It broke up a wedding, caused two terrible heartbreaks, and ultimately brought the town's perfect couple back together. Lots had obviously changed since then, as a skinny blonde was alone in the infamous car as she pulled up in front of the girl.

"Peyton!" she exclaimed as the car stopped. She threw her bag into the backseat and jumped into the front with her cousin.

Peyton smiled. "God, Kayla, I have missed you," she said pulling her into a tight hug. She pulled away suddenly. "How are you?" she asked with a very concerned look.

"Drive," Kayla commanded. They pulled away, driving in silence for a couple minutes before either girl spoke again, each having their own reason for the stillness.

Peyton finally broke the silence. "Look Kay, I get it if you don't want to talk about it. Hell, I'm sure I have more secretive problems than you do, but you have to let me in a bit. I get a call saying you are coming to Tree Hill, and the next day you show up. Like, of course I am thrilled to see you, but if you are running, then all I can do is help you find your way back home."

Kayla took a few deep breaths, trying to not let the tears that were hiding behind her eyelids roll down her face. Her eyes were glued to the road ahead of them. "I just needed a change I guess. I needed to get away for a while, remember what it felt like to be wanted and loved for myself, not my successes. And Tree Hill just seemed perfect for that."

"You are so much like me. That is exactly how I would explain myself, saying lots while not actually saying anything," Peyton said. She suddenly pulled the Comet over to the shoulder of the highway and pulled the key out of ignition. "Okay, Kayla, we are halfway between the airport and Brooke's house. You can tell me what's up and I can help you find your way back, or you can keep being a cryptic Sawyer girl and I can turn this car around and send you right back to New York. The choice is yours."

A shocked Kayla turned at looked at her cousin. Peyton had grown up a since the last time she had seen her. Granted, it had been a while, but still, this was not the Peyton Sawyer she had grown up with. When she lived in LA, Peyton was so easy to be around. She was so passive; she let Kayla come stay with her whenever she wanted. She was also heartbroken then, and very lonely. Peyton was a mother now, and a wife, although that part was on hold a little bit. Kayla hated that Peyton couldn't see why she had to be away from the city and why she didn't want to talk about it.

If anyone knew how the tortured artist thing worked, it was Peyton. It brought her to New York to see Kayla and her family plenty of times all through her childhood and teenage years. She ran to Jake in Savannah when she was upset. She ran to Brooke in New York when she had been lonely in LA. She ran to Tree Hill when she felt out of place and needed to go home. And every time she arrived at a new place, a new set of problems and issues awaited her. Her mother's memory was all over Kayla's family. She had no idea where Jake and Jenny were, and missed them every day. Lucas had a girlfriend when she came back to Tree Hill. Every time she ran, Brooke told her to face the problems, and eventually, she stopped running. And Peyton wanted Kayla to have a true home. She knew that being a gypsy just left you with more unanswered questions.

She tried again. "Kayla? Talk to me."

With a very quiet, unsure voice, Kayla tried to begin. "Do you remember Trevor? The one who I always said was perfect? Well, I caught him in bed with my best friend, and apparently they have been together behind my back for four months. And the worst part is that he said he would have just left me for her if I hadn't been famous." She had given up on fighting the tears, and simply let them flow.

Peyton pulled her into her arms. "Sweetie –"

"And my parents," Kayla cut off. "They're getting a divorce. And it is a disaster. I mean, I get it. Like who am I to say that they should stay together. They have been horrible together for years. But shouldn't they at least be civilized through the divorce process. And they're using me as a chess piece. I don't understand that part. I mean I am legally an adult. I live on my own. I can see either one of them whenever I want to. But you know how my parents have always been, entirely work focused. And now they are both trying for parent of the year awards. I never even told them I was leaving."

Without a second thought, Peyton pulled back onto the highway and continued driving home. Even she could see that Kayla needed to be away, at least for a little while. Peyton was worried about her. She had never seen her like this, so lost and mistrusting and out of place. Peyton had always admired Kayla for how put together she always was. She was known to stay strong when facing a crisis. Peyton then realized she had never seen Kayla face a personal crisis. She was always so goal oriented, completely focused on work. Her personal life was always so separate. Kayla didn't let her get caught up in men. Her writing was her first priority, and personal problems had never been a part of her life. Peyton didn't know how to tell her that it would be okay eventually.

Silence filled the car as the two girls drove down the highway, one heading home, the other running from it. Kayla stared out the window, trying to numb her mind as trees rushed passed her. Peyton kept her gave locked to the road in front of her, searching her brain for something to say to Kayla.

"Divorce." It was the first word to break the silence. Peyton was surprised b what came out of her mouth, and it easily captured Kayla's attention. Her head snapped up toward Peyton, waiting for her to continue. Peyton took a minute and then tried to explain herself. "What is it like? As a child I mean. How hard is it?"

"It's pretty bad, Peyt," Kayla said. Tears began to fill her eyes as she looked at her cousin. Tree Hill was her obvious destination when she had to leave home, but she was very afraid of what she would find when she arrived. She was running from being the child of a divorce, but she headed straight into the arms of someone who quite possibly could be going through that very thing with her own marriage. She was worried about Peyton, what divorcing Lucas could mean to her. Kayla was most afraid of her own actions. She didn't want Sawyer to grow up with only one parent, but she certainly didn't want to let her own family's problems influence Peyton's decisions. If a divorce was what she needed, Kayla would have to be there for her and accept it. She just hoped it wouldn't come to that for Peyton, if for nothing else than for the sake of Sawyer. "She doesn't deserve it, Peyton," Kayla said, knowing that Peyton would understand who she was referring to.

"I know, but what is better? If we get a divorce now, then she would never remember what it was like when Luke and I were married. If I hadn't left him, one day I would wake up to an empty bed and a fatherless daughter. So I think that I am better to protect her from him now and not let her grow attached to him so he can one day leave us." Peyton was trying to stay strong and not let her cousin see her weak, but it was difficult. It was becoming impossible for her to keep putting on this facade that she didn't need Lucas or want Lucas around. She missed him more than anything.

"Peyton, pull the car over." Kayla knew Peyton was on the verge of tears, and getting into a car crash was not the best way to solve any of their problems. With a glance at her cousin, Peyton did as she was instructed and pulled onto the shoulder of side street. They weren't far from Brooke's place, where Peyton had been crashing for the last while, but they had plenty to talk out before they arrived. "Okay, Peyt. Start at the beginning."

Tears began to fall as she spoken. "It's been coming for a long time, Kay. He's been trying so hard to be the perfect father and the perfect husband, but he hates it. There is so much more he wanted to do, but now he's tied down to me and Sawyer. And the hardest part is that he gives us everything. We moved back to Tree Hill so I could have Red Bedroom and Tric back and so Sawyer could grow up here with the family. He loved living on the road. He was happy with his sister and his mother. I took all of that away from him. He saw that I wanted to be at home in Tree Hill. He saw that, as much as I loved seeing him so happy, a part of me really wasn't happy. And he gave me that back, sacrificing his own in the process. I pretend I don't know about it, because I know he doesn't want me to, but he gets calls from LA and New York all the time. They want to try again with his book, making it into a movie. They want him to go on another book tour when he releases his new book. They want him to go for a year, internationally. And he always says no. I want him to have that. I won't be the reason why he can't have his dream. He always said I was the one he wanted to be beside when all of his dreams came true, but what difference does it make who he is beside if he never gets to live his dreams?"

"So you left because he put you and your daughter before his needs? That's crazy, Peyton."

"No, Kayla, I left because I was afraid of what would happen when he realized what he was doing. I didn't want him to realize one day that he resented me for marrying him so young and having a child, and forcing him to give up on everything he ever wanted." This was the first time Peyton had said any of this out loud, and while she realized how crazy a lot of it sounded, she still felt like removing herself and her daughter from Lucas was the best way for them to all be happy.

Kayla sighed. "Peyton, I have read Lucas's books, okay? All of them. There was never a moment where I wasn't completely convinced that everything he every wanted was to be with you and your child, and to see both of you happy."

"That's the thing. We can't both be happy. It hurt him to see me unhappy, so we moved back home. And at home it hurts me to see him unhappy. Rather than let it get to the point where he hated me for holding him back, I decided to set him free. I could feel him falling out of love with me. Every day it was getting harder to see him, because I knew that he didn't look at me the same way. There wasn't that same longing anymore. I couldn't see the magic in his eyes every time he touched me. We were just going through the motions. I figured that if I set him free, he could move on and then go on living out his dream, not having to worry about upsetting me."

"Move on?" Kayla asked. "He has a daughter here. Even if you aren't willing to admit that, I'm pretty sure he is. He sees that your lives are tied to each other, whether you want to be or not. He isn't going to just abandon his daughter. He isn't Dan."

"Dan. That was the one thing I was afraid of the most. I didn't want him to wake up one day and realize he had grown distant and uncaring, that he was resenting us for not being able to live. He would turn into Dan, and it would be entirely fault. And it would be yet another reason for him to hate me."

"Peyton, you can't blame yourself for what might have happened. Right now, yes, you are to blame. You took your daughter and left one night, moving across town to Brooke's spare bedroom. You gave him no explanation, just a returned ring. That is completely your fault, and if he hates you for it now, well you can blame yourself for that one. But what might have gone wrong isn't your fault."

After a deep breath, Peyton spoke, so quietly that it was barely audible. "So what do I do now? How do I fix this, Kay? How do I make it so that Sawyer isn't hurt?"

"You still love him."

She nodded. "More than anything."

"Then the answer, honey, should be easy."

**

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Congratulations, Bendecida82. You correctly guessed the character. It was sort of a trick question, as you have never met the character before, but somehow you managed to get it right. I am very impressed. I plan to explore Kayla's past quite a lot, and her childhood relationship with Peyton. They are the kind of cousins who are actually more like sisters. Peyton's dad and Kayla's dad are brothers, so Kayla's last name is also Sawyer. She is twenty three, two years younger than Peyton and Lucas, and is a writer. She writes novels for teenagers about real life situations, the kind of things Sarah Dessen writes.**

**I said before that this idea came to me in a dream. In the dream, I was Kayla. My name is Kelly, so it kind of fit. This character is in a lot of ways going to be modelled after myself, simply because actions and mannerisms that are much like my own are the things that caused the plot to progress in my head.**

**My plot line is in no way firm, though. Tell me anything you would like to see happen, and I will see if it can be worked into my loose plot line. Whatever you liked, disliked, predict, or hope for, please tell me. It will help me write a story you want to read.**

**Reply with who from Tree Hill in season eight you want Kayla to become involved with.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter Three

**I will admit I was slightly disappointed by how few replies I got for chapter two, but thank you so much for the ones that I did receive. I realized that by personal messages in response to your reviews didn't actually go through, so I will say a few words to each of them now.**

**Kit147: First of all, thank you for being my first reviewer to repeatedly reply. It means a lot that somebody liked my story enough to want to come back and read what happens next. Okay, so, onto your review. I guess since this is my first One Tree Hill story, it isn't really obvious, but Lucas and Peyton are my absolute favourite couple on the show. They just seem the most real to me. So, let's just say that I am a strong believer in happy endings. You should read the fairy tale I wrote (it's linked from my profile). I'm all for happy endings. As for relationships that Kayla should get into, well in this chapter you will see more into Kayla's thoughts on relationships and that kind of thing a little bit more. I'm not giving anything away, but the thought of Chase absolutely did cross my mind.**

**Bendecida82: Thank you to you also for being a repeat reviewer. Julian's little brother is quite a cute idea. Like Julian and Peyton didn't work out together, but Julian's brother and Peyton's sister. I actually really like that. I think though, that I am better off involving Kayla with a real character, because I don't want to build up too many of my own characters. If I were to put Julian's brother in a relationship with Kayla, I would also be creating my own character for him, so it would be a relationship based on my own imagination. And that is never good. Of course Peyton is being silly, but I think that is Peyton. She knows that the last thing Lucas wants to be in like Dan, and she really doesn't want that to be her fault. But with Peyton, you really just have to give her time. Like I said above, I am a strong believer in happy endings.**

**New2TreeHill: Thanks for being a new subscriber. Peyton and Lucas will have their talk, but you will just have to wait for that. I love the idea of Skills, but I think that Kayla isn't really that type of person. She is more for something sturdy and consistent and kind of predictable. Still somebody romantic, but not crazy like Skills. I personally love him, but he isn't right for everyone, and I don't think he is right for Kayla.**

**I guess I lied when I said my author's notes were going to get shorter. I tend to explain myself a lot. Anyways, any time there is dialogue, I would love it if you would read it threw fully the first time, and then go back and only read the parts inside the quotation marks. This story started in a dream, and in that state it was much like a movie. I couldn't really see into the heads of my characters.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill.**

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Just as the silence between Peyton and Kayla was becoming unbearable, the Comet pulled up in front of Brooke's house. Since Kayla's final words on the subject of Peyton's marriage, both girls had been afraid to speak. The quiet, of course, was so much easier than the judgement behind each others' words. Sometimes it was simpler to just stay out of somebody else's world all together, even if, deep down, you know that you are helping.

Kayla, however, grew tired of ignoring their last argument. "I thought you said we were going home, Peyton."

"Well, your home is in New York, and mine is occupied by my ex-husband. So this is home for now." Peyton removed the key from the ignition and began to get out of the car. She turned back to grab Kayla's suitcase.

Kayla refused to leave. "No, Peyt. Your home is where your husband is. There is no 'ex' involved. And I am on vacation."

"Well if you want to be there so badly, why don't you go stay with him?" She slammed the car door and headed towards the front door.

As she stepped on to the porch, the door flew open. With a small nod at Peyton, a very angry looking dark-haired man ran out the door and down the driveway. Kayla couldn't believe this. Just because her world was falling apart didn't mean that the hearts of everyone she cared about had to break. "Julian," Kayla called. "You get your ass back here. We don't need any more broken hearts in Tree Hill."

"Kayla, this has nothing to do with you," he called back after her. He got into his car, revved up the engine, and pulled out of the driveway as quickly as he could.

Kayla ran into the house, following Peyton's voice and Brooke's sobs. As soon as she entered the room, she immediately felt guilty. This was their world, not hers. Peyton was holding Brooke in a tight hug on the couch while Brooke cried into her shoulder. This was a moment that they had shared plenty of times over the years in some way, and Kayla felt extremely out of place. She regretted coming to Tree Hill. She saw that heartbreak shouldn't be avoided but faced at home, where it happened. "I'm sorry," she whispered and she turned and ran out the door.

Kayla heard footsteps behind her. "Just where do you think you are going, missy?" Brooke asked. Kayla turned around and saw the short brunette wiping away her tears and trying to look strong. "You, my darling, are not going anywhere until you have a nice little chat with B. Davis."

Kayla didn't know what to say. She stood in the threshold of Brooke's home waiting for an answer. Why was she of all people given such an amazing extended family? Brooke obviously had a million of her own problems. Her fiancé just stormed out her door. She had only lost her company a few months earlier. She was standing by and watching as her best friends' hearts broke. And she still was worried about Kayla.

Brooke led her into the kitchen and began talking brightly. "You are exactly like me, Kay. Like I know I have always said that, but this is different. You are doing exactly what I would do. Actually, it's exactly what I have done plenty of times. Let me guess. Someone broke your heart in New York and you had to get away from it. You came to Tree Hill because it felt safe, but you saw that heartbreak follows you wherever you go. You feel out of place here, so you want to go home. And when you get home you will curl up into a ball at your apartment and let your life pass you by because it hurts too much to live."

Kayla, once again, had begun to cry. "How much did Peyton tell you?"

"Nothing, honey. I was you a couple years ago, though. I know the story, probably better than you do." Brooke smiled and poured coffee for herself and Kayla. "Now, Kayla, it isn't about what happened. It's about what we are going to do now."

"I came here for a distraction more than anything. I figured that if I could help Peyton and Lucas find their way back to each other, in the process I would find myself. But it doesn't really work that way, does it?" Kayla sipped at her coffee.

"Well I can't say they don't need help. But that does not mean that you don't either."

"You do too, Brooke."

"No I really don't. Julian was just mad about a movie that didn't get picked up properly. I said some things I regret, and he stormed out. He will be back before noon. I promise." Brooke smiled.

"I'm sorry," Kayla quietly said.

"For what?"

"Everything. For just showing up here and asking to stay with you. For yelling at Julian when he left. For thinking I could do anything for anyone here. For intruding. For making you feel like you have to take care of me." She got up from the table and put her empty coffee mug in the sink. "I can just stay at the motel if it's easier."

"Kayla Sawyer. When my family comes to visit me, I wouldn't dream of having them stay at the motel. I'm sorry that I don't have that much space for you, but any couch or bed you can find is yours. You can stay as long as you want to, and you aren't leaving until I tell you that you are allowed to."

Kayla was in awe of how good of a person Brooke Davis was. She was flawless. Beautiful, brilliant, talented, caring, maternal, sweet, and strong. Pretty much everything Kayla wished she could be. She was thrilled every time somebody told her that she was like Brooke Davis.

She wiped her tears and smiled slightly. "Can I fix Peyton first and then fix myself? Because that would work better for me. And I think she needs it more than I do."

Brooke smiled at her best friend's favourite cousin. She had known Kayla for as long as she could remember. Kayla and Peyton had been like sisters growing up, so naturally, Brooke took a liking to her. Kayla had always been in awe of Brooke, and she took advantage of that. As a child, she tried to morph Kayla into a mini-Brooke. She had done a better job than she could have imagined. The real thing that worried Brooke was if being like her was a good thing or not.

"Fixing others' hearts won't fix yours, Kay."

"I'm not really heartbroken anymore. Just hurt. Like all of the people in New York that I loved and cared about all betrayed me in some way or another. I can write from anywhere. I was tied to New York because of my friends and family. It hurts to know that I have nothing to go back to there." Kayla smiled sadly. "Thank you for this, Brooke. All of it. And for everything you did for me when we were young. I've missed you, Brookie."

"I've missed you too, honey," Brooke replied.

"Well Peyton said she wanted to take me to the studio, and I want to wonder around town a little bit first. You know, see how much has changed around here in the last eight years. See you later." Kayla turned and headed upstairs to the guest room where Peyton was staying.

"Kay, can you hang out with Brooke or Haley for a while or something? I need to get to the studio. Mia called me and she is having a bit of a crisis." Peyton was rushing around the room dumping random items into a purse. By the state of the room, it looked this she had been doing this quite often. The separation was getting to her in ways she didn't even notice.

"Can you just drop me off downtown? I want to see what the city is like now. I can just walk around for a while and then meet up with you at Tric later. And then I can see Mia again." Kayla smirked as she watched Peyton fill her bag with a box of tissues.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Let's go, though." They headed downstairs, waved to Brooke, and got into the Comet.

"You know, Peyt, this car really is as cool as I would have thought. Like I thought it would be kind of redundant to have a car with a book named after it and songs written about it. And this car caused so much drama too. But I have to say, it is worth all of that." When she saw that Peyton didn't react to what she said at all, Kayla tried something else. "What are we listening to, Peyton?" She reached over to press the disc release button, and was surprised when no disc came out.

"Nothing. I haven't listened to any music that I didn't have to for work for a while now," she said monotonously.

"But music is your life, Peyt."

"Well that part of my life is still at Lucas's house, and there is no way that I would go to his house, just for my music. It isn't that important."

Kayla sighed. "Okay well you can let me off here if you want. I know you have to get to the studio. Quinn's gallery is just down the street, right? Maybe I'll go check it out."

"Okay, Kayla. Whatever. I'll see you later," Peyton said as she let Kayla out of the car.

"I'll meet you back at Tric in a couple of hours, Peyt," Kayla said.

"Bye." Payton pulled away as soon as Kayla was out of the car.

Kayla stood on the corner with the strange feeling that Peyton wasn't really going to the studio. This seemed like something she had done quite often. Almost as if she had to go meet with somebody. Kayla knew that there were a lot of negative things that could be said about her cousin, but she couldn't imagine that Peyton was going to hook up with somebody this afternoon. She did, however, notice that Peyton drove off in the opposite direction of the studio, towards the housing subdivisions, and towards Lucas's house. There were, of course, a million other houses in that area, and she could be going anywhere, but she certainly wasn't going to Tric.

With her mind going a mile a minute trying to figure out what Peyton was doing this afternoon, Kayla began to walk down the main street of Tree Hill. She loved, more than anything, being a part of the small town feel. Smiles and greetings were exchanged as strangers passed each other in the street. Children ran down the road, basketballs in their hands, heading for the famous River Court. This was nothing like you would see in New York. The worlds were so entirely different. New York was a business town. Everyone was destination focused, task oriented, and independent. Here, the world seemed so much calmer. Suddenly, Kayla felt very out of place in her high heels and designer clothes. Not a single person on the street was dressed professionally, and she realized it was because they felt safe. They knew that, at home, they didn't have to try.

There were very few shops that had remained the same since Kayla was last in town. Karen's Cafe was now the empty boutique where the Tree Hill Clothes Over Bros used to be. It was currently being renovated into a restaurant. The diner that Peyton and Brooke had taken her to so many times over the years was now nothing more than an internet cafe.

She also recognized very few people from her last visit. There was no Dan Scott, Karen Roe, Keith Scott, or Deb Scott running the town. The Tree hill Ravens were an entirely different generation now, and Whitey had retired and moved to Florida.

Kayla stopped suddenly, though, upon seeing an extraordinarily familiar figure across the road.

"Excuse me," she called to a sweet looking, grey haired woman. "Is that, by any chance, Lucas Scott?"

**

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Thanks for reading. My next chapter is one of the couple scenes that I saw truly vividly in my head. I have it practically done; it just needs a bit of fine tuning. I would very much appreciate your reviews, but do not feel obligated to do so. The next chapter will be up in a couple of days.**

**Review with what you think Peyton is going off to do. Remember what the last line of the chapter says.**


	4. Chapter Four

**Well this is it. There were two scenes of this story that I really saw in my dream, and this was one of them. I loved writing it because I knew exactly how I wanted to end it, and that made the initial write so much simpler. I really hope you like it, because I loved this scene in my head.**

**Once again, to gain the full intended impression of this chapter, and I suppose any time there is dialogue in my story, read it twice. The first time through, read everything like a normal book and the second time imagine it like a movie, only reading the dialogue.**

**Once again I really want to thank my readers, and especially the ones who cared enough about my ability to get this story written to review. Hint hint nudge nudge. I like reviews in case you didn't notice. I am still unable to properly reply, so bear with me as I thank and respond to those who were kind enough to leave their thoughts.**

**Kit147: You are officially my favourite reader. Thank you for reply to every single one of my chapters, and giving me thoughts and ideas of where to go with this. Sawyer is hanging out with her cousin, Jamie, at Nathan and Haley's house. She has been spending a lot of time their recently, since Lucas isn't willingly to let Peyton have much time with her and Lucas needs all the help he can get. He really isn't too keen on being a single father. About the place where Peyton had run off to, well you will find out eventually, but not in this chapter. I figured it was long enough without that.**

**Ria: Thanks for the review and the energetic response. Having Jake in the picture is an interesting idea. I was actually toying with that in my mind. Jake is a really great character to have in the mix with Peyton and Lucas because he was really good friends with both of them, but obviously in very different ways. Thanks for the idea. I might actually use that, but in quite a different way. This is the kind of thing a lot of my ideas come from. But, it is safe to say that Peyton is not running around with Jake, in case I didn't make that clear enough.**

**Melissagirl: Hi! I also love Brooke and Julian. I started watching the show at the start of season seven, so Peyton and Lucas were already gone. Brooke and Julian, as well as Clay and Quinn, was my favourite couple. But then I went back and watched all the old seasons, and I fell in love with Lucas. Peyton sort of just came along with that I guess. I read a story one day about Peyton and Lucas coming back to Tree Hill and how they would have reacted to the events of season seven. It was brilliantly written and well done, but there was very little to the Peyton and Lucas story line. All the other characters had their stories, and Peyton and Lucas just helped them through stuff. It didn't seem very realistic to me, and I wanted to stay as far away from that as possible. It is, of course, Peyton and Lucas central, but primarily through the eyes of Kayla, but there is absolutely going to be other stories tied into this. I plan to keep all of the original story lines from the current season. I am not at all creative enough to make up my own stories for each of the characters. Everything will obviously have to be somewhat altered, but I'll try my best. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.**

**OTHGirl24: Thanks. I don't have anything else I can say to that except for keep reading and maybe they will work it out. I like happily ever after.**

**Gosh, I am really sorry for the length of my author's notes. This chapter, though, is quite a bit longer than my other ones. I really hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill.**

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Kayla ran down the Tree hill street, formulating a plan in her mind. She was presented with an amazing opportunity, but she had no idea what to do with it. This was definitely going to be fun. She felt slightly badly about talking to Lucas behind Peyton's back, but if Peyton was too scared to face him, somebody had to. If nothing else, it was unfair to Lucas to not have any idea what was going on inside his wife's head. She couldn't imagine how that must have been; to come home from work on day to a note on the kitchen table saying that Peyton had left and took his daughter.

Finally catching up to him, she pretended to trip and fell directly into his arms. In a moment, they were both on the ground, Kayla lying over top of her cousin's husband, her brown hair covering her face from possible recognition. They had never been formally introduced, but it was possible that he could have somehow known who she was. There was no way he could realize she was related to Peyton, though. If anything, she looked and acted so much more like Brooke.

"I am so sorry, sir," she said as she slowly stood up. She extended her hand to him to help him up.

"Not a problem, miss," he answered quietly, not looking at her and not accepting her help up.

"Oh my god!" she squealed as she pretended to see his face for the first time. "You're Lucas Scott. I am, like, such a huge fan!" Kayla smiled inwardly as Lucas squirmed while she threw her arms around him for a very awkward, fan-like hug.

"Well umm thank you, miss," he replied awkwardly.

Kayla grinned. "You are like, way hotter in person."

He nervously twirled his wedding band on his ring finger. Although it had become a nervous habit of his since Peyton left him, this time it had a point. Even though it had been all over the magazines when he had gotten married, he wanted to make sure this girl understood that he had a wife. Or at least he wished that he had a wife. Whether he did or not was somewhat up in the air at the moment.

Kayla saw him fiddle with his ring. He still wore it, unlike Peyton. IF she knew anything at all about Lucas Scott, it was that if he knew his wife was no longer wearing her wedding band, his would be off in an instant. He loved her, but he cared too much for his dignity. Seeing his ring made her think that he still had hope for their marriage. And if he was still hopeful, then maybe it could be fixed.

With a optimistic smile, Kayla stepped back into character. "An Unkindness of Ravens made me cry for hours. Like, it actually made me believe in love, again."

Lucas smiled sadly. "You had your heart broken?" he asked, knowingly.

"Yeah, haven't we all?" Kayla asked nonchalantly, as if heart break didn't matter to her. "And then I heard that you were engaged to that slutty editor chick and I just couldn't believe it. I mean Lucas and Peyton were meant to be."

"We were." He gave her another sad smile. At least her thought that they were. He wasn't really sure of anything anymore, though. He couldn't understand why happiness couldn't be in the cards for himself and Peyton. They had both suffered so much to finally find each other. And it turned out to all be a waste. Peyton didn't turn out to be the woman he thought she was. She had finally let him in, and then as soon as things got hard, she put all of her walls back up. They had promised to love each other forever. They had stood up in front of everybody they cared about and vowed to be faithful and true and to love the other until death. He supposed that a part of that was true. His heart and soul died the day she walked out of his life.

Kayla noticed Lucas's emphasis on the second word of his sentence. He was trying to look cool and collected while talking to this random girl, but she could tell that behind his calm exterior, he was dying. She felt sudden need to protect him. He was, after all, family. She was sure he had heard plenty about her, and she knew more than enough about him. Lucas had always struck her as the kind of guy who needed to be looked after a bit, even though he would never admit it. If Peyton refused to be there for him, Kayla decided she would have to fill in as a Sawyer shoulder to lean on until Peyton was ready to take over the job again.

She decided she would have to tell him who she was if she was going to be able to get through to him at all. "Peyton was totally my favourite character!" Kayla gushed. In any other situation, she would have been unbelievably embarrassed by her actions. She had never been that kind of girl to read tabloids and get caught up in drama. But it was her cousin's marriage she was trying to help. And that alone put aside all of her inhibitions.

Lucas once again gave a small, tragic smile to Kayla. "Mine as well," he confessed. He hoped that the girl he was talking to couldn't see how hurt she was by this conversation. The press hadn't yet found out that he was separated from his wife, and he truly hoped to keep i that way. The last thing he needed was for some fan girl to call a tabloid with the story of his marriage. After all, he was still hoping it would be temporary.

Kayla kept going, trying to ignore how much she knew she was hurting him. "And of course I loved Brooke Davis. You totally described her perfectly. I mean, like, you got her right down to the last curl."

"You know Brooke Davis?" Lucas was suddenly confused. He took another look at her. Right off the bat, he had thought her mannerism had seemed somewhat like Brooke a couple of years ago. Looking at her now he saw the dark hair and eyes, the facial structure, and the pushy, almost protective attitude. He saw Brooke from the year he was with Lindsey; the last time Peyton's heart had been hurting because of him.

Kayla inwardly cursed her brief step out of character. She wanted to get some information, or at least give some, as an innocent bystander before she let him knew that she shared a last name with his wife and child. She quickly tried to cover herself. "No, of course not. I mean from Clothes Over Bros. She was always in the tabloids, obviously."

"Oh right, of course," Lucas smirked. A girl should not judge people by what is said in magazines. He had a feeling though, that this girl was not who she seemed to be. It was something in her eyes. It told him that she knew a lot more than she was letting on.

"Anyways, I was so happy when I read The Comet and I found out that you got, like, back together with Peyton," Kayla continued, trying to cover herself even more. "And then Sawyer was born and I was, like, so worried about her and the baby."

Lucas frowned. "How do you know about her pregnancy complications?" That was the one thing he had made sure to keep out of the public eye. He really didn't care about a lot of things in his private life being analyzed by the press, but when his wife's life was hanging by a thread and his daughter was almost motherless, he really saw no need for the tabloids to know. It was another reason why he believed this woman to have a hidden agenda.

Kayla gave Lucas a small smile. "I know a lot of things," she said. "Anyways, I was, like, so happy to hear that you moved back to Tree Hill. I mean I know Peyton always said that this town was full of bad memories. I mean like two dead mothers, Jake and Jenny, Psycho Derek, it's a lot to carry around. But, like, she also loves this town so much. She has all of these great memories with you from here.

"I still don't see how you know all of this." The Psycho Derek ordeal wasn't published in his book, and neither was very much about Anna or Jake and Jenny. He understood how she could know about Ellie, but the rest simply didn't add up.

Kayla smiled at Lucas's confused look and decided to take advantage of his moment of weakness. "You totally still love her, don't you?"

"She's my wife. Of course I love her." Lucas hated when people pried about his personal life. If she didn't know about the separation, he really wanted to keep it that way. And if she did know, well his answer was absolutely not a lie. He still loved Peyton more than anything, whether she felt the same way or not. He just wanted to know the truth, if it was possible for her to love him again, or if he should just let her go.

Calmly and evenly, Kayla continued. "I know that you are separated. She moved out." She didn't want to scare him by thinking that it was public information, but she was in no position to let him in on anything if he didn't know how much she knew. If she told him who she was, though, he would think that she was a spy sent from either Peyton or Brooke, wanting to know what he thought about Peyton's actions. If she could get him to trust her, this would be the best way to get some answers.

"How could you possibly know that?" Lucas yelled. He didn't want to cause a scene, but he also didn't want people thinking his wife had left him. If others began to accept it, it meant he would have to, too.

Kayla didn't know how to answer that. "That isn't the point," she began. "The point is that you obviously love her, and I know that she still totally does really love you."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Did you hear that from her, or from a tabloid?"

"My sources are absolutely reliable," she assured him. "I'm sorry but I can't tell you how I know, though. At least not right now." This was getting a little messy. If Peyton found out, she would be dead. Brooke would be pleased, but her cousin would have her head.

"Well then, what else do you know?" A part of Lucas was thinking that this was ridiculous. This girl couldn't possibly know anything that he didn't already know. But she had already surprised him, so a much larger part of him was curious what else she had to offer.

Kayla smiled sadly, and somewhat guiltily, although she hoped he couldn't detect that in her voice. "I know that Peyton is dying right now. I know that you are, too. And, I know why she left and why she's avoiding you still."

"And that would be?" Lucas didn't know if he could trust her or not, but he had to know what she was going to say.

She took a deep breath and began to spill secrets that she had been told in very strict confidence. It was, after all, for Peyton's own good that Lucas knew her issues. Even with that in mind, though, she still felt terrible. "She doesn't want to hurt you, Luke, or your daughter. She seems to think that it is hard for you to be twenty five and be tied to down to a wife and a child and a small town. She doesn't want you to give up things for her."

Lucas cut her off. "That's insane." That couldn't be true. There had to be more to it than that. He wouldn't believe that Peyton left him for his own good. The thing he loved most about her was that she was selfish when it came to him. He loved that she never wanted to be apart from him, whether it hurt either of them or not. But that was a different Peyton, obviously, than the one who had left him. He wanted to believe it was something bigger than an 'I love you so I have to leave you' separation. It would be so much easier to accept if she had been cheating on him and felt guilty so she left or just changed into a total bitch and thought she was better than him. He could accept it even if she didn't love him anymore and didn't want to be his wife any longer. At least like that, he would have someone to blame. If what this woman was saying was true, and knowing Peyton, it might be, the only person he would have to blame would be himself for pushing her away.

She nodded her head at Lucas. She could almost see his thought process. It was kind of funny that she had been hearing about this boy since she was thirteen, and now, almost ten years later, her first conversation with him was breaking his heart even worse than it had already been hurt. Kayla felt terrible for what she was doing, both because she was betraying Peyton's trust and because she was killing Lucas in the process. "I never said it wasn't. But that's what she thinks. She doesn't want you to wake up one day and realize you resent her for not letting her have more. The book tours and movies in LA, she wants you to have it. She wants you to be able to travel for a year, basking in your success and glory, and not have to feel bad about leaving your family behind. She doesn't want to hurt you and stop you from living your dream. She doesn't want you to become Dan Scott."'

"And I should believe you because?

Kayla took a deep breath. This was it. If he didn't believe her, then he really didn't know who Peyton was anymore, and maybe they had grown apart more than she realized. If he couldn't believe what she was saying, she would have to step back a little bit. But there was, after all, a big difference between not believing and not wanting to believe. "You know deep down its true, Luke. Like I know you don't want to admit it, but you know Peyton as well as I do. She's afraid of losing you, so she is shutting you out. It's what Peyton Sawyer does. She builds walls."

Lucas's face became visibly red, a thing that only occurred when he got very angry. He inwardly used himself for letting this girl get to him. He had been doing so well at stay calm and emotionless since Peyton had left, but something in this woman had triggered him. All the bottled up emotions were starting to get to him. He felt a little bit bad fro taking out all of his anger on this innocent woman, but she did push herself into a situation that did not concern her in the slightest. He tried his best to justify yelling at the woman before him. "You know her as well as I do? She is my wife. Not yours. You have never met her. You think form reading my books and a couple tabloids you know anything about my wife and our marriage? You know what? I don't even care. I have to get back to my family, or at least the part of it that's left. I'm sorry, miss, but my daughter matters more to me than whatever you have to say, and right now I need to get to my brother's house and be with her. Go back to your magazines and tabloid trash."

Kayla looked at her feet and exhaled dramatically. She understood. He believed her and accepted what she was saying, but he couldn't bring himself to admit that he trusted what she said. At least he still knew who his wife was. The rest could come over time. There was still hope. "If that's what you want to think, Luke."

Lucas recognized the way she looked down when she was out of line. If he was being completely honest with himself, she reminded him of the girl he once fell in love with. The high school Brooke Davis. Long brown curls, designer clothes, a guarded, simple kind of strength, a mysterious side to her, the need to protect Peyton. It was all there in front of him, but he knew that Brooke couldn't possible have a sister. "Who are you?" The words were out of his mouth before he realized what he was saying.

With a very Brooke smile, Kayla looked up at him. She had finally gotten through to him. She made a mental note to thank Brooke later for teaching her how to act like her. Recognition, of course, was the best way to get somebody to cave. "Tell her to come home. Talk to your wife. You, of all people, should know that love is always enough." She turned to walk away.

"You remind me of someone I used to know."

"High school Brooke? I get that all the time."

So she knew that she was like his former girlfriend. Lucas realized she was obviously using that to her advantage. He never could say no to Brooke Davis. He didn't understand how she could get that all the time, though. There was only so much about Brooke in Ravens. And a fair bit of it was negative. It was, of course, his and Peyton's story, not Brooke's. "How could you know that?" he asked with an eerie sort of calm to his voice.

"I guess I just know a lot about this town."

"Who are you?" He was getting so confused.

"Talk to her, Luke. She's your wife still, and it's going to take at least a conversation to change that, in either direction."

"That's what I'm the most afraid of."

"Well," Kayla began. "I guess you need to face your fears sometime."

Lucas sighed. "Just tell me who you really are."

She smiled softly and began to walk away. She had convinced him. He would talk to Peyton, they would both cry, and then they would make up and live happily ever after. Or they would talk and scream and hurt each other and then get a divorce. But, either way, it would be dealt with, for better or for worse. Over her shoulder she called to him. "It's Kayla. Kayla Sawyer."

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What do you think? In my dream, I pictured Kayla as this petite, feisty, a little bitchy brunette who had a comeback to anything Lucas might say. This chapter was rewritten three times, so please tell me if you don't like it, because I really just want feedback on my writing more than anything.**

**My next chapter is in the very early stages, but my term ends on Friday, so after that I will have a lot more time to write, especially after Tuesday when my exams are over. Don't count on anything new before the weekend, but it is possible that I will become particularly inspired.**

**I've noticed that reviews really do inspire me. I have written a couple chapters for a few different stories that I have abandoned and ended up deleting because I didn't have a motivation. I don, however, know what it is like as a reader to be awaiting the next chapter, and that I think is what is making me want to continue writing. So if you want more of my story, REVIEW PLEASE!**

**I have two things I would like to ask in a reply:**

**What do you think of my style of writing? Do you like or dislike that it can see into the heads of all of the characters? Should it only focus on Kayla's thoughts? Should there be more or less description? Should there be scenes that don't have Kayla in them?**

**What do you want to happen to get Peyton and Lucas to come together and talk?**


	5. Chapter Five

**This is absolutely not my best work, but I'm trying. I was somewhat blocked, but I knew what I wanted to say, which to me at least, is the worst situation to be in. I haven't written anymore past this, so please tell me what you would like to see happen. I have a couple of scenes in mind, but not in any particular order or timeframe.**

**I apologize for how long it has been since my last update. I have been intensely studying for exams, and that has me very stressed out. Despite my talent of procrastination, I haven't been writing much lately.**

**Kit147: Thank you. I really don't know how long I want this story to go on for, it really just started as something I had to get onto paper because I couldn't concentrate on anything else until I did. But what you said gave me a good idea for a conversation between them.**

**OTHGirl24: Thanks for the review.**

**New2TreeHill: Kayla is more or less based after me, with a lot of Peyton and Brooke added to it. I think that the point is that Lucas doesn't think it is his battle to fight. He wants Peyton to come back to him, obviously, but he loves her too much to pressure her. And don't worry. Sawyer will make an appearance soon. I just need to figure out how to write her.**

**RJMoonspell4: Thanks for the review.**

**Cabentley: Thanks. My main goal here is just to get writing experience. Trust me, the fluffy couple will be back together, it just might take some time for that to happen. Thanks for the ideas, though.**

**: That conversation between Lucas and Kayla just stuck in my head, and I really didn't think of the kind of person she would be to talk to Lucas. It was more or less like if that were me, what I would do. And I would talk to Lucas. Sawyer will be in the story very soon. I promise.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"Oh my God, it's Mia Catalano," Kayla fake squealed as she walked through the doors to Red Bedroom Records. She had only met Mia a couple of times while on tour. Peyton had made sure that Mia and Kayla met up any time they were in the same city. Despite having only met a few times, they became great friends very quickly.

"Kayla," Mia exclaimed in return. "Man, I have missed you, girly." Mia had liked Kayla ever since her first trip to New York. She was extraordinarily lost and felt very out of place, and Kayla had taken her in and showed her around.

Both girls dropped whatever they were holding and ran to each other in a tight embrace. Kayla giggled softly at how odd this all felt. The last time she had been to Tree Hill, Tric was nothing more than a warehouse, and now it was one of the best clubs she had ever been to, complete with a recording studio and an independent label in the back. Peyton's work never failed to impress her.

Remembering Peyton, Kayla pulled away from Mia suddenly. "Is everything okay, Mia?" she asked.

"Yeah, totally. Why wouldn't it be?" Mia was very confused, proving to Kayla that Peyton had lied to her.

"That girl," Kayla smirked under her breath. "Peyton said you called with an emergency and had to be here right away."

"Kay, Peyton isn't even here."

"I figured as much. Oh well. I am earlier than I said I would be, so she probably assumed she just had to beat me here. She will have some questions to answer when she does get here, though." Kayla wasn't impressed, but she was even more confused. Peyton obviously wasn't with Lucas, as she had just been with him. Brooke and Julian were together, making up after their fight, and Kayla was certain that was something Peyton did not need to be around for. Nathan and Haley had Sawyer with them, and apparently Lucas was going over there, so that was a definite situation that Peyton would avoid. She didn't know that much about how Peyton spent her time, but she simply couldn't understand where she was at.

Mia turned around suddenly as the door to the studio suddenly flew open. Kayla was around the corner, hidden by the wall, and not visible to the door. The skinny blonde who flew through the door was a complete mess. Her curls were all tangled, her face was flushed, and her face was tearstained. Peyton did, however, look somewhat happy and rested.

With a small smirk, Mia reached out to take a bag from Peyton. "You okay, boss?"

"Okay here's the deal, Mia," Peyton said. "One of our sound systems was down and I had to get somebody in to fix it?"

"That's in case Kayla asks about the crisis you had to be here for?" Mia asked. She was trying to put the pieces together in her mind, Peyton's appearance and her excuses. Unless she was sleeping with someone, and even Peyton wouldn't do that given the circumstances, she simply couldn't make it add up.

"Yeah. Thanks, Mia." Peyton gave her a half smile, and then frowned suddenly. "How do you know about that?"

"I guess I got here a little too early, Peyt?" Kayla stepped out from around the corner and gasped as she saw her cousin's appearance. Her smirk turned into a glare. "Peyton Elizabeth Scott. Who the hell were you just with?"

"Sawyer. It's just Peyton Sawyer. And Julian was right, Kayla. You really need to learn to mind your own business." Peyton sighed.

"Well somebody has to mind to your business, Peyton, because clearly, you don't," Kayla shouted.

Mia rolled her eyes. Sometimes it was so much better to be living alone. With no family, few friends, and no boyfriend, it was so much easier to get through the day. "I'll be in the studio. No murdering please, girls." She walked away after making sure that the outside microphones were turned off.

"In case you forgot, Peyton, you are married. You have a husband and a daughter who both love you very much. And they both miss you very much. You aren't divorced. What the hell, you have only been separated for a month. And you are already sleeping with someone else? Or was that the real reason why you left him?" Kayla was livid. She had spent her afternoon talking to Peyton's husband about how much Peyton loves him and misses him, and then she shows up after having slept with an unknown guy. Maybe it was better to just give up.

"God, Kayla. Just calm the hell down, okay?" Peyton sighed. "It's not like that."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you guys in love? Doesn't that just fix it all?" Kayla asked sarcastically. "You made out with Lucas while he was dating Brooke, but you were in love so it was okay. You went out with Julian right after you turned down Lucas's proposal, but you were in love so it was okay. You left your husband and you're hooking up with some random, but you love him so it's okay, right?"

"Kayla," Peyton pleaded, tears beginning to fall.

"No, Peyton," Kayla snapped. "I really couldn't care less for your excuse. I guess the joke's on me, though, because the main reason I came here was to try to help you find your way back to Lucas. But I guess somebody else is already helping you find your way."

"Kayla," Peyton tried again.

"Too bad, isn't it, Peyton?" Kayla asked. "You had everything you had always wanted. You had spent years pining after Lucas, and you finally had him. You were married with a beautiful child. You had everything. And you threw it all away."

"Stop it!" Peyton screamed. "Just shut up, Kayla. You have no idea what you are talking about. So, shut up." She leaned back against the wall behind her and slid down it, burying her face in her hands. This was not what she had intended to happen. She planned to be back at the studio earlier, giving her a bit of time to freshen up before seeing Kayla. She knew that Kayla would realize something was up right away. She cursed at herself for not leaving earlier.

Kayla had nothing left to say. Maybe she didn't know all of the facts, but she knew that Peyton was up to something. Even if she hated what Peyton was doing, though, she still was Peyton's family, first and foremost. It killed her to see Peyton put up the infamous Sawyer walls around her and push away even her closest family. She sat down next to Peyton and pulled her cousin's head into her lap. Kayla softly ran her fingers through Peyton's blonde hair as she cried.

The two girls sat like that for a long while, each not knowing what to say. Peyton was too embarrassed by what she had been doing to tell Kayla about it, but she hated that her cousin could even imagine that she would sleep with someone other than Lucas. Kayla was ashamed of Peyton for being with another man, but she did understand it. The feeling of being unwanted could drive a person to do some very crazy things. She knew that as well as anyone.

Slowly Peyton pulled away from Kayla. She decided she had to tell the truth, for it couldn't possibly make Kayla think any less of her then she currently did. Kayla sat up straighter, too. She decided she had to tell Peyton that she had spoken to Lucas. That way, no matter what Peyton was doing, she would be forced to talk to him.

"I have a confession to make," Peyton said.

At the same time, Kayla said, "I need to tell you something, Peyt."

They both paused for a moment, unsure of what to say or who should begin. After a moment, Peyton began. "I haven't been sleeping well. Since I left his house, I have been too scared to close my eyes. He protected me from the nightmares, and then he was gone, so the nightmares just came back."

"So you turned to somebody else to sleep with? Real classy, Peyton," Kayla said, shaking her head.

"My God, can you just let me finish, Kayla?" Peyton snapped. "I know you think I am a slut, and you have every reason to, but I'm trying to tell you the truth here, okay?"

Kayla nodded her head and kept her mouth shut.

"I don't know if you ever saw my bedroom at my old house, but I had this huge-ass bulldog painted over my bed. He was supposed to protect me from Psycho Derek and the bad dreams that came along with him. You know the real reason I painted that up there? I didn't want to believe that it was Lucas that was protecting me. I needed to think that it was that dog because then I could still pretend that I didn't depend on him. Lucas slept with my every night for a month after both of the attacks, and I felt safe." Peyton stopped to take a breath and wipe her tears.

"So you had to go to somebody else to feel safe?" Kayla retorted, unable to stop herself.

"God, Kay, I'm not done," Peyton cried. "When I moved to LA, I took a bunch of his clothes with me. I still don't know if he knows about it, but I would wear one of his shirts whenever I slept. I had his scent around me, and I could almost imagine the feeling of being in his arms. I did that every night, even after we broke up. I met Julian and I still slept with the feeling of Lucas around me. He was right, of course. I always was sharing him with the memory of Luke. And then I came home, and I saw that he was perfectly happy without me, and I realized I had to move on. I couldn't keep holding on to him when he had let go of me years before. Plus, his clothes smelt like me by then, not him." She broke down and collapsed on the floor.

Kayla put a hand on Peyton's shoulder. "It's okay, honey. That's all over now. He's yours, not Lindsey's," she said before she could realize what was coming out of her mouth.

"Is he?" Peyton shrieked. "He must hate me. He's never going to want me again after this. What if he is with somebody? What if he went back to Lindsey?" Peyton asked in horror.

"Well, you would know if you bothered to talk to him."

"Seeing him with Lindsey was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. It just wasn't Lucas. She had manipulated him into believing I was the bitch, when really, she just wanted a book to be written about her. And he fell for it. And it killed me to watch and not be able to do anything. Living with Brooke helped a bit, but she had a lot of her own stuff going on. I guess the truth is that I never felt safe without him, and I really still don't."

"Well then, where the hell were you?" Kayla asked. "Because I know you weren't at the studio and I know you weren't with him."

"Did you see him?" Peyton asked, hopefully. She saw the confused look on Kayla's face and shook her head. "Never mind. I haven't slept at night since the last night I was in his bed. Every time I close my eyes and try to fall asleep I see him. But it isn't really him. He's screwed up and broken and hurt and Sawyer is, too. And I know that it is always my fault. And I can't save them. And then I turn around and I see that Psycho Derek is with them. I just stopped sleeping."

"So you wanted to be in somebody else's arms?"

"No. I wanted to feel safe. I talked to Haley and she said she takes care of Sawyer all the time when Lucas needs to get out. So she calls me whenever he brings over Sawyer. He never changed the locks. Haley said he is still hoping that I will come back one of these days, Kay." Peyton wiped her eyes again.

"His wedding band," Kayla whispered.

"What?"

"He still wears it, Peyton," she said.

"I know. But I don't deserve to wear his ring. Or Keith's ring," Peyton cried.

"But you can still, Peyt."

"It's really bad, Kayla. Haley said that she went over there one day and he had The Cure playing on my record player. He hates The Cure. It was one of our things because it was one of our biggest disagreements. And she said he always messes my side of the bed so that he can pretend that I slept there with him. She said that he wants me to just go over there after work one day and he would pretend that nothing had happened if I would just go back to him. I killed him, Kayla. And it's killing me."

"So where were you, Peyton?" she asked, still unsure if Peyton was sleeping with somebody.

"I had to feel safe, Kayla. I had to feel him. And he is going to know I was there. I lost track of time and I didn't have time to fix the bed. He's going to know, and it's going to hurt him. And I can't do that, Kayla. I can't handle this anymore." Peyton collapsed on the ground, her body shaking with sobs.

"Peyton," Kayla began. "Let me see if I get this. You left him, and he wants you to come home. You went to his house to sleep in his bed because it makes you feel safe, and you think it will hurt him to know that?"

Peyton nodded her head faintly.

"He wants you to come home, Peyton. He is under the impression that you don't love him anymore. He hates himself for pushing you away from him. He will be thrilled to know that you were there. He blames himself for all of this." Kayla knew she had to tell Peyton about her encounter with Lucas earlier that day, but she didn't know what kind of reaction she would get. Peyton was already such a mess, and she didn't want to make that worse.

"He's Lucas Scott," Peyton cried. "Of course he blames himself."

"Honey," Kayla started tentatively. "He's your husband. He wants to be your husband. And that will still be the case even if you don't want to be his wife anymore. But that is a decision you have to think about very carefully."

"Carefully?" Peyton screamed, snapping her head up and looking Kayla straight in the eye. "There is nothing to think about at all, Kayla."

"You want a divorce?" Kayla asked, trying to hide the tears in her voice and trying her very hardest to support her cousin's choice.

Peyton took a deep breath. "I want it to be how it used to be," she confessed. She hated herself right then for so many reasons. He had stopped caring a bit, but she had let it happen. She didn't try to fight like she should have. She stopped caring, but she never stopped missing him.

"Honey, you left him." Kayla didn't want to hurt her, but hat had to be pointed out. Peyton brought on a lot of what went wrong with the marriage.

"No, Kay," Peyton said as bravely as she could. "I mean way before. When we were first married we were so happy. We were obsessed with one another. It was hard to be apart for an hour, never mind a month."

"Peyton, I think it is hard for Luke to apart from you right now. I think it was from the moment you left." Kayla took a deep breath. "I know that he loves you. I know he misses you. I know he wants to be with you."

Peyton wiped her tears and looked at Kayla with wide eyes. "Did you talk to him?"

Kayla sighed. "He was walking while I was out exploring. It just sort of happened. I'm sorry, Peyton. I know I shouldn't have meddled, but somebody needed to talk to him, and if you wouldn't, well I thought there were a few things he deserved to know." She closed her eyes and awaited Peyton's wrath.

Peyton took a very deep breath. She wasn't mad at Kayla. She was only angry with herself. She couldn't believe she had let it come to this. They were Peyton and Lucas. They were the fairytale that entire books were written about. They were supposed to get their happily ever after. And now Peyton was avoiding him, afraid to speak to him. Her cousin had to do her dirty work, simply because she thought that if she saw him, she would end up saying something she didn't mean, doing something she would regret, and end up with a very unwanted divorce.

Peyton's silence was beginning to worry Kayla. She knew that she had done the right thing, but it would kill her if doing that had driven a wedge between her and her cousin. Peyton had to know that she was absolutely on her side, but she only wanted to see her happy. Kayla knew that Peyton would never be happy without Lucas.

"I'm not mad, Kayla," Peyton finally said, causing Kayla to exhale loudly. "Thank you, Kay. At least he knows now I guess. And what he chooses to do with that will determine the future of my marriage."

"No, Peyt. You left him. If you still love him, it's up to you to fight for him and to prove to him that he can trust you again. He is afraid to give you his heart because you have broken it too many times. A guy only has so much pride, and you have diminished a lot of his." Peyton wasn't mad, and Kayla took that to mean that she wanted Lucas to know what she was thinking. Kayla was still hopeful.

"What else did he tell you, Kay?" Peyton was partially very curious, and partial very afraid to know what was going on inside her husband's head.

"Well I told him why you left. And he hates himself for it. He was wearing his wedding band. He referred to you as his wife. He said he loves you and misses you and just wants his family to be back together again," Kayla answered. "He's dying, Peyton. He looks about ten years older, but not in a good way. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. I guess he has nowhere to go to where he can feel you."

"You don't think he will be mad that I broke into his house to sleep in his bed?" Peyton asked.

"Peyton, I don't even know if he would realize. He seemed very out of it. Kind of like you, like he was just going through the motions for the sake of it. But if he does notice, I think it will give him hope again. He was pretty lacking on hope when I spoke to him," Kayla admitted.

Peyton sighed. "I hope you're right, Kayla." She wiped her eyes and looked at her cousin seriously. "He really said that he still loves me?"

"You can't be serious, Peyton," Kayla said, shaking her head. "Of course he loves you, Peyt. You're Peyton and Lucas. You are his world.

Tears welled in Peyton's eyes. "I want to believe you, Kay. Really, I do. It's just so hard, you know. I have hurt him so much, and if I were him, I would hate myself. Who am I kidding? I do hate myself. So much."

"Well, he doesn't feel that way. He loves you. I just don't know if he trusts you."

The two girls sat in silence for a while. Peyton loved him, she knew that now. In fact, she was as certain of that as she had ever been in her entire life. She just didn't know how to go back to the way things were.

Kayla smirked suddenly. "Sorry," she whispered immediately.

Peyton gave her a look like she was crazy. "No, Kay. What?"

Kayla shook her head slowly and opened her mouth, but just couldn't find the right words. "I'm so jealous," she said bluntly.

"I'm confused," Peyton replied.

"You have everything, Peyton. A husband who will love you until the day you die, even if you don't want him to. A daughter who adores you more than anything in the world, and also misses you the same way. A job that people dream about. Friends that would die for you in an instant. And seriously, Peyton, your best friends are a professional basketball player, two rock stars, a world famous fashion designer, and a movie producer. And you are married to bestselling author. You have everything, Peyt." She wasn't trying to make Peyton feel guilty. Actually, she was trying to make herself feel better. If she saw that having everything isn't always perfection, maybe her own screwed up life wouldn't seem quite as sad.

Peyton, once again, began to cry. "Maybe it isn't everything though, Kayla. Maybe who you know and what you do and where you live and how much money you have really don't matter at the end of the day. If you can't be happy with the kind of person you are and the choices you have made, than none of the rest of it really matters, does it, Kay? And I'm certainly not proud of many of my choices lately."

"So, start making yourself proud again, Peyt," Kayla said, trying to pretend that it was really that simple.

"I wish I knew how to. Even more than myself, I want to be the kind of person my mom would be proud of. Both of them, I mean. Anna raised me to be gracious and never turn my back on people I love and my family. And Ellie, well, she would roll over in her grave if she knew that I had been living without her music for the past month. I just wish I could be that daughter for both of them again. The person they loved and wanted me to be, Kayla."

"Peyton, both of your mothers love you, and they always will, whether you love Lucas or anybody else, whether you take care of your daughter or leave her with Luke, whether you listen to music or not. You just need to care about yourself, honey."

"How?" Peyton cried loudly. "How am I supposed to do that? Without Lucas, nothing makes sense. I need him to help me find my way back. He has always done that for me before, and now, well now I'm alone. And it scares me."

"Tell him, Peyton," Kayla began gently. "He should know how you feel. Give him the chance to be there for you again. You shouldn't have any reason to mistrust him. He has been nothing but understanding throughout this whole thing."

"I think that might be the worst part," Peyton admitted. "He suffers silently. I know I hurt him, but it would be way easier to go back to him if he was visibly dying without me. He almost seems unaffected, like he doesn't care that I'm gone. And it really isn't helping the whole unloved feeling."

"So what do you want, Peyton?" Kayla asked, maybe a little too harshly. "You can't get everything you want here. You had that before, and look what you did with that. Do you want him to miss you? Or do you want him to be happy?"

"He had a writer's block for a really long time. The entire time we were with his mother, he might have written one chapter. And then we came home and suddenly he was writing constantly. He said I inspired him, but I could tell that Tree Hill was really the only place he could write. He wrote Ravens during senior year, when I was with him and we were home. He wrote The Comet when I moved home. And he began writing again when we moved home together. Haley told me he hasn't written a single word since I left. What if we just pretended hone of this happened and went back to how it was a year ago?" Peyton asked.

Kayla laughed humourlessly. "I don't think it works that way, sweetie. You two have some deep problems now, and you have to work through them. Together."

Kayla stood up slowly and walked over to Peyton's desk to find a tissue. The shrill ring of the studio's phone suddenly reminded the two girls that there was still a world outside of their conversation.

Kayla tossed a tissue box to Peyton, who headed towards the bathroom to freshen up. Kayla answered the phone. "Red Bedroom Records," she said with a false cheerfulness in her voice.

A moment later, Peyton ran from the bathroom to her cousin as she heard the phone clatter to the floor and a loud gasp escape from Kayla.

**What do you think? Like I said, certainly not my best work, but an attempt is still an attempt.**

**I have nothing else written yet, and I really don't know where to go next, so any suggestions would be lovely. I honestly don't know what the cliff hanger at the end of this chapter is leading to, so I would really love some input to get my creativity flowing again. I have been really uninspired lately.**

**Reply with what you want the phone call to have been about. PLEASE!**


	6. Chapter Six

**I am so, so, so, so, so, so very sorry. I didn't die. I didn't forget about this story. I just had a terrible case of writer's block. It's funny because I have had the next three or four chapters planned out on my computer for months. I just couldn't write it. So thank you very much to anybody who is still sticking by me. Updates will hopefully be a little bit more frequent from now on.**

**This is really not how I wanted this chapter to go originally, but I figured it was good enough. I really just wanted to the get chapter up for all of you who have been so patient. I didn't get a single personal message sent to me, although that might be a good idea to keep me motivated.**

**Thanks for the couple of reviews that I did get for the last chapter:**

**Kit147: Well I can't really say much about what you said without completely spoiling what happens, but you do have good ideas. I will try my best to update more regularly from now on.**

**RJMoonspell4: I am trying my best to incorporate the rest of the gang into this story. It is primarily a Peyton and Lucas story, but this chapter does include a fair bit of Haley, who I went to hell and back with while trying to write properly, and I have some Sawyer and a little bit of Jamie. I would not have the first clue as to how to write basketball. I am very sports challenged.**

**New2TreeHill: That was the goal. I am trying to stay as in character as possible, and I could totally see Peyton sneaking into Lucas's house to take naps. Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"Haley," Lucas called as he walked through the door of the house Haley and Nathan shared. "You will never guess who I ran into today." Lucas was still extraordinarily confused from his encounter with Kayla, a Sawyer girl who he still did not know the connection of. It could have been a total fluke. The girl could have coincidentally shared a name with his wife, and somehow managed to know everything about his life, but he didn't find that very likely.

"Daddy!" Sawyer screamed, running towards the sound of her father's voice. Lucas bent down to lift her up and spin her around. It broke his heart to see how happy she was. Ignorance really was bliss, and Lucas would have given anything to be able to pretend that he was as content as his daughter.

Haley walked into the hallway where Lucas and Sawyer were. "Peyton, hopefully," she replied with a bit of a smirk. It killed her to see two of her best friends avoiding each other and trying to pretend that they didn't want to be together, but, honestly, she thought it was quite ridiculous. She knew the two of them better than almost anyone, and it didn't take a genius to see that it was simply a battle of pride. Neither of them wanted to admit they were wrong. Neither of them wanted to cross the line first.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "I wish," he muttered under his breath. He then turned to Haley. "Almost. Do you know who Kayla Sawyer is, Hales?"

Sawyer perked up at the sound of her name. "Sawyer!" she shrieked. "Like me." Her cheeks were rosy with giddiness and her blonde ringlets bounced as she ran in circles around her father and aunt. Her green eyes shone with excitement. It broke Lucas's heart to look at his daughter and see his wife smiling back at him. He hadn't seen his wife's real smile in way too long.

Lucas shook his head to clear away the thoughts and smiled sadly at his daughter. "That's right, baby. You're my favourite Sawyer." He sadly remembered having said very similar words to Peyton so many times over the years. There was nothing he wouldn't give to have that time back. If nothing else, he would have made much better use of the time he did have.

"Peyton's cousin?" Haley asked with a slight bit of confusion. "Haven't you met her before? She writes for your publishing agency. I'm pretty sure actually that Lindsey is her editor." That must be slightly uncomfortable, Lucas's wife's cousin working with Lucas's ex-fiancée. She then remembered that Lucas continued to work with Lindsey after he and Peyton became engaged. That was probably a little bit more awkward.

Lucas shook his head. "There is no one named Sawyer at that publishing agency, Haley. I think I would have noticed that."He especially would have noticed somebody with the last name Sawyer who was so similar to Brooke Davis. The girl almost seemed like a mix between the two girls, a Sawyer who was raised by a Davis.

Haley rolled her eyes. "She has a penname, Luke." She was staring to seriously worry about Lucas. This was a minor time when he had been a total space cadet, but these occurrences were quite frequent. He just stopped functioning sometimes, and would altogether forget about things he really shouldn't. His daughter, for example.

"Oh."

"Kayla Greenmont."

"Oh, I have heard of her. I have heard that Lindsey complains about how much of a spoiled, selfish b-i-t-c-h she is," Lucas smirked. Lindsey is the last person to be calling anyone a selfish bitch. "I guess if she is related to Peyton, she would probably have a hard time working with Lindsey."

Haley rolled her eyes. She still found it mildly entertaining that Lucas felt the need to talk shit about Lindsey at every chance he got. Old habits die hard, and he had been doing that ever since Peyton agreed to marry him. He wanted to make sure she knew he was not having any second thoughts. "Anyways, Luke, what about Kayla?" Haley asked.

"She's in town."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Luke said with a slight shake of his head. "That was my reaction."

"Brooke's mentioned her a couple times," Haley said slowly. "It sounds like she was like a sister to Peyton when they were young, and she really liked Brooke. I think she is from New York or Los Angeles or something. Brooke told me once that she is really opinionated and controlling and doesn't take no for an answer. Who does that remind you of?" she asked with a smirk.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Brooke Davis. I thought Kayla Sawyer was like the ghost of high school Brooke when I first met her. It was so weird. She pretended to be a fan girl but she knew way too much about me and Peyt. Like she knew everything. I was worried that the tabloids had found out about my marriage."

"Daddy? What's marriage?" Sawyer was so innocent, and Lucas would have given anything in the world to keep her that way. He hated that his relationship problems with his wife could become the cause of his daughter losing her innocence.

"It means, baby, that your mother and I love each other. By law, she has to love me forever." Lucas smiled sadly at his daughter. If only it were that simple.

"How come she doesn't live with us?" Sawyer really missed her mother, and it broke Lucas's heart to see that it was just as hard for her to be without Peyton as it was for him.

"That's complicated, baby." He didn't have the energy to explain what was going on in Sawyer's mother's head. Even if he did, he wouldn't know what to say. "Why don't you go find Jamie? I think he wants to show you his new baseball."

"How do you do it, Luke?" Haley asked Lucas after Sawyer ran off to find Jamie. She looked at her best friend with a mixture of sadness and empathy.

"Do what?"

"Talk to her about Peyton as if it doesn't hurt you?"

"She is still my child's mother, Haley. Nothing can change that."

"Do you want that to change?"

Lucas immediately turned and walked out of the room. He took this from a lot of people. Brooke, who he didn't see very often because she was always with Peyton, was on his case about making a decision as to what he wanted from Peyton. Nathan thought of Peyton as a sister, maybe even before he thought of Lucas as a brother, but all he really wanted was to see the two of them together and happy again. But Lucas could not take those kinds of remarks from Haley. She was supposed to be on his side. She knew as well as anyone that he just wanted his wife to come home, no questions asked. So he didn't understand why she was suddenly giving him crap for his relationship.

Haley sighed as she watched Lucas walk away. She hated to see him like this. She wished that she could go talk some sense into Payton, so that she could see what she was doing to her family. It was a really bad circumstance, but Haley knew that it wasn't her place to interfere. When either Peyton or Lucas asked her from help, she would be there in a second. Until then, though, she had to try her best not to meddle.

Haley followed Lucas into the living room where Sawyer and Jamie were playing with Jamie's baseball. This is what family looked like. Both the adults in the room knew it, but neither of them was willing to admit it. The only thing that was missing was the backdrop of Lucas's house, and Lucas's wife.

"Daddy," squealed Sawyer. "Come play with me."

Lucas walked over to his daughter, scooped her up, and swung her high into the air. She giggled in delight. Sawyer then reached out for Haley. "Mommy?" she asked curiously.

With that one word, it was like all of the air had been sucked out of the room. Haley was petrified at what her niece had just said. Lucas put Sawyer back on the floor and was nearly shaking with fury. He couldn't believe Peyton had let it come to this. Their daughter spent much more time with her aunt than her mother, to the point where she was confused about which was which.

Haley was the first to snap out of the shock that Sawyer had caused. "Sawyer, I think we should go into the other room for a little while. Your daddy needs so time to himself." She reached for the tiny hand of her best friend's daughter. "Come along, Jamie."

The two children followed Haley out of the living room, where Lucas still stood, frozen in thought and fury. In his mind he played through all the different scenarios of what he might do when he finally did see Peyton. He'd yell at her. He'd throw divorce papers in her face. He wouldn't speak to her. He wouldn't let her come near their child. But through it all, he knew that he would let her back in to his life in a second.

From Jamie's playroom, Haley saw a car pull up her driveway. She was a little bit curious, but she didn't think much of it. Her friends dropped by her house all the time. She figured it was Mia. She had left one of her guitars at Haley's house a few days earlier. As the car came closer, Haley easily recognized it. Her curiosity turned into confusion, worry, and outright excitement. This was the kind of thing she had been hoping for all along.

"Momma," Jamie whined. "I'm hungry."

"Okay, baby." Haley smiled as she led the two children into the kitchen. She began to fix them a small snack, while listening intently for the slamming of car doors.

Lucas had seemingly snapped out of his trance, and headed into the kitchen to see his daughter. "Hey, Sawyer," he called with a smile.

Sawyer giggled in response and threw a cracker at her father.

Haley rolled her eyes and smiled as they all heard the doorbell ring.

"Luke?" she asked innocently, turning towards her best friend, and trying not to smirk. "Can you grab that for me?" She didn't like to meddle, but this was such a perfect opportunity to. Haley simply couldn't pass this one up.

"Yeah sure, Hales." Lucas tossed the cracker back to his daughter after taking a bite of it. "I'll be right back, baby." He walked over to his daughter and kissed her forehead gently, then turned around and headed down the hallway, towards the door. Without giving it much thought, he unlocked the deadbolt and casually opened the door.

He was greeted by a tragic sob, and a shaking head of blond curls, which collapsed into his arms.

**Well, I hope that was worth the wait. Definitely not my best, but like I said, I wanted to give you something.**

**My goal will be to have the next chapter up by the end of next weekend, but I am not making any promises, because I hate to break them, and that deadline might be unrealistic.**

**I have a lot of ideas of where I want to head with this, but I am not enamoured with very many of them. I'd love to hear where you think this should go.**

**Reply with what you think should happen next, for anybody, not only Peyton and Lucas. PLEASE AND THANK YOU!**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Two posts in three days. You should be impressed. Very impressed. I was inspired, but definitely not because of the reviews that I got. It was a little bit disappointing, but I guess that is my own fault for taking so long to update. I want more than three replies this time. That is really what motivates me the most. Basically, if you want me to update sooner, tell me.**

**I actually like this chapter. It is the first one since the chapter with the conversation between Lucas and Kayla that I have actually been somewhat proud of my writing. This one wrote itself pretty easily. I had most of it written before my last chapter was even showing up on the website.**

**My next couple chapters have plans, but I want to know what you think should happen next.**

**Thank you to Kit147, RJMoonspell4, and New2TreeHill. You are my favourites. You have reviewed every single chapter, and I love you for it.**

**Kit147: I'm sorry about the cliff hanger. It was not supposed to go on for that long. I was supposed to tell you what happened at the end of the last chapter, but it kind of just seemed like a good place to stop. So I wrote my ass off for you the past two days and at the end of this chapter, you get the gift of knowing what that telephone call was about. Thanks for sticking by me.**

**RJMoonspell4: Thanks for sticking by me through my dark period of not writing. You're awesome.**

**New2TreeHill: I have said so many times that I am a huge fan of happy endings in stories. Real life is a whole different thing, but in stories, happy endings are kind of a guarantee in my writing. Or at least in this story. Thanks for the review.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

She clung to Lucas like a lifeline. He was a floatation device and she was drowning in the deep, ice cold ocean. She was falling and he was the only thing that was holding her up. Her world was spinning and collapsing around her and Lucas was the only thing that still made sense.

And even he didn't make very much sense to her anymore.

Subconsciously, she snaked her arms from her sides where they had been pinned to their natural place around Lucas's neck. She pulled herself closer to him until there was no space between their bodies. She buried her face in his chest, so that his face was hidden in her curls.

Lucas stumbled backwards, having been caught off guard by the body that was suddenly thrown at him. He wrapped his arms tightly around his wife and pulled her inside with him, kicking the door shut in the process. He walked her down the hallway a few steps, and then leaned against the wall.

As the shock of once again having Peyton in his arms rubbed off slightly, Lucas moved his arms from her shoulders to her waist and wrapped them around her tightly. He rubbed soothing circles on her back with his long fingers, under the pretence that he was comforting her. Really, he wanted to feel as much of her as he could. He needed to memorize her in case she disappeared from his life again. He inhaled the sweet scent of her messy, blonde curls and committed to memory the feeling of her hair on his cheeks. He tilted his head down and placed a series of soft kisses along the top of her head, instantly remembering just how amazing she tasted and how much he had missed pressing his lips to every inch of her body.

Peyton couldn't believe what was happening. She knew that Lucas would be at Haley's house. That's why she had driven there instead of Lucas's house. But she never imagined that he would open the door. She didn't anticipate that he would hold her when she threw herself into his arms. She didn't think he would be there for her. She didn't think he would protect her, especially since he was the one who needed protection. His heart had to be protected from her.

Lucas was bewildered, to say the least. He had no idea where this had come from, why Peyton was crying, or what would happen after this. He had no intention of questioning it, though. He had his wife, the love of his life, in his arms once again, and if something had happened to her that had forced her to come running to her husband, so be it. At least she was safe with him.

Peyton was impressed with how accepting and loving Lucas was, but it only made her feel worse about herself. Of course Lucas would be his perfect, gentlemanly self to her now, just like any other time. She was alone and scared, and as far as he was concerned, she was still his wife and she was still his to take care of. She shouldn't have expected any less than perfection from him. He was Lucas Scott, after all. And Lucas Scott lived to take care of Peyton Sawyer. Whether it was crazy stalkers or school shootings or dead moms or a father that was never around or a risky pregnancy or a million other things that had happened to her over the years, Lucas was always there, riding in and saving the day. He was her Prince Charming.

Peyton had been a horrible princess lately, though. She hadn't shown him any love. On the contrary, she had been horrible to her Prince Charming and their baby princess. But like any knight in shining armour, he put aside his emotions and took care of his damsel in distress at her time of need.

Peyton hated that she needed him. He hated to rely on Lucas for anything, especially since she was the one who left him. As much as she hated to admit it, she felt safe in his arms, safer than she could ever remember feeling. It felt like home to be held in between his strong muscles, with his huge hands wrapping around her body. She was comforted by the feeling of her tears saturating his tee-shirt and soaking through to his chest.

Lucas loved, more than almost anything, to just be there for Peyton. She was strong and independent, and he loved her because she was, but she had a soft, emotional, insecure, and very guarded heart, and she didn't let very many people see it. He started to choke up seeing the love of his life, helpless and broken, but it made him very happy and hopeful to know that she was still comfortable with being in his arms.

Peyton was so happy he was there. She didn't know what she would have done without him. He was her saviour, her protector, and he was there through almost every bad news in her life. He was with her when Ellie died. He went with her when she had to identify her father's body. He was there when her friends were in the hospital. He was with her during the school shooting. He was with her when she found out about her pregnancy complications. He was always there.

Lucas was hit with the fact that Peyton drove to Haley and Nathan's house when she needed to someone to cry to. She didn't go to his house, their house. She was probably looking for Nathan, her best guy friend, or Haley, the maternal patriarch of the Tree Hill family. She was not looking for him. Tears began to form in his eyes and slowly drop into his wife's hair.

Outside of the house, Kayla was still sitting in the Comet. She saw Lucas open the door, and she knew that Peyton and Lucas probably wouldn't have gotten very far past the front door. She didn't want to interrupt by trying to pass them, but she did not want to sit in Peyton's convertible forever. She was happy for her cousin and Lucas. This was what they needed. As horrible as the event was that brought them together, maybe it was some sort of a blessing in disguise. Peyton was in Lucas's arms once again, and maybe that was all that really mattered. Maybe everything would be alright in the end for them. Maybe it would be for Kayla, too.

Kayla was brought back to reality by a voice calling out to her. "It's Kayla, right?" Haley asked, standing beside Peyton's car. "You're the infamous Sawyer cousin?"

"That would be me," Kayla smirked. "Infamous. That's a good way to describe me. And you are the other Mrs. Scott?"

"The other Scott? That used to be how everyone described Lucas." Haley laughed a little at the memory.

Kayla's smile grew wider. "Well I have met all of the other 'Mrs. Scott's," she said, trying to defend herself. "Peyton, Deb, Karen. Well I guess Karen was never actually a Mrs. Scott, but she was the mother of a Scott and she was engaged to Keith at one point, right? So that must count."

"You knew Karen Roe?" Haley asked. She missed Karen every single day. Lucas's mother had been like a second mom to Haley the entire time she was growing up, and she was so excited that Karen was planning to come home to visit for a couple days around the time that Haley's baby was due.

"My mother or Anna used to take me and Peyton and Brooke to the cafe all the time when we were really little. She made the best cookies." Kayla smiled at the memories.

"So you must have known Lucas, too, then."

"I'd seen him a couple of times. Not enough to count it as actually knowing him. But I think I did meet him once or twice." Kayla smiled at Haley. "Nathan, on the other hand, I knew quite well. Deb and Anna used to be pretty good friends, so I basically knew Nate all of my life." She laughed a little bit. "He was such a dick."

Haley smirked. "Well, I think he has grown up a little since then. And I'd like to think that I was the cause of him growing up, but you never really know." Haley shook her head, letting Kayla know that it was alright to think about the past, but it wasn't what really mattered anymore. She reached for the door handle to open up Kayla's side of the Comet. "Come inside, Kayla, honey. I'm sure Luke and Peyton will be here for a while."

Kayla climbed out of her cousin's car and followed Haley around the back of her house. She quite liked Haley. She was mature, no doubt, and was one of the most maternal people Kayla had ever met. She seemed really stable, like she was the rock of the Tree Hill family. But, judging by the stories Kayla had heard from Peyton, that was defiantly not always the case.

That was the thing Kayla loved the most about the people of Tree Hill. They took turns being the sane one. When Peyton's world was falling apart, Brooke was there for her. When Brooke needed help, Lucas was always there. When Lucas needed somebody to lean on, Haley was there. When Haley was battling depression, Nathan was always right beside her.

Kayla had never experienced that sort of a family-like group of friends. But then, she had always been on her own. She was a fiction writer. She created her own friends, friends that could never leave her, friends that could never betray her, friends that could never hurt her. She knew it wasn't healthy, but it was all she had ever known.

Kayla stopped suddenly when she saw a girl with a blonde mess of curls playing with a boy who looked about eight-years-old. Haley was still walking towards the house, but Kayla was frozen in her place. She was mesmerized by the little girl's green, joyful eyes and her infectious giggle.

Rage suddenly filled her. Kayla couldn't understand Peyton anymore. She couldn't see how her cousin could have given up this beautiful little child. If Kayla had a baby, especially one as perfect as Sawyer, there would be nothing that would ever separate her from her child.

Haley's soft laugh broke Kayla's angry train of thought. "Sawyer, darling, there is somebody here who wants to meet you." She smiled lovingly at her niece. "This, my dear, is your Auntie Kayla. She is your mommy's cousin."

"Jamie is my cousin." Sawyer smiled up at Haley, proud of herself for making that connection.

"Yeah, baby, Jamie is your cousin," Haley said, shaking her head slightly at her smart, but ridiculous, niece.

"Auntie Kay?" Sawyer asked hesitantly. She slowly climbed to her feet and walked nervously towards her newfound aunt. As she walked, her little hands reached out to her aunt, trying to touch her.

"That's right, honey." Kayla took a step towards Sawyer and then knelt down so she was closer in height to her niece, and therefore, less intimidating. "It's nice to meet you, Sawyer." She extended her hand towards the little girl.

Haley smiled at Kayla and Sawyer. At least Sawyer was feeling loved by one Sawyer woman. It wasn't quite her mother, but it was getting closer. And Peyton was in her house at the moment. She wondered how long it would take Peyton to realize that her daughter was in the house. She was a little bit afraid for the reaction that would come from that, not only from Peyton, but from Sawyer, and even from Lucas. She hoped it was going well inside the house for the two of them.

Lucas was still standing against the wall in the front of Haley's house, holding Peyton tightly against his chest. It had been a long while, but the pair of them had yet to have said a single word. Lucas was scared to break the silence, afraid of what would happen when Peyton consciously realized whose arms she was in.

"Luke?" A muffled voice came from where it was buried, against Lucas's chest. She read his thoughts, just like she always did. She agreed. They did need to talk. As always, Peyton was so much braver than Lucas.

Lucas slid one of his hands up Peyton's body into her hair and gently tugged it away from his body. Her face was pulled to look at him. He took a deep breath, and then looked directly at his wife. It was the first time he had seen her in more than a month.

Lucas was shocked by the look in Peyton's eyes. Even underneath her current sadness, he could see so much in there, guilt, pain, fear. It was like he wasn't looking at the same woman.

Peyton blinked back her tears and stared into her husband's eyes. She used to be able to tell exactly what he was thinking with just one glance. Now, though, he just looked empty. It was like he was just a shell of the person he used to be. She took a deep breath, letting it all sink in. She was with her husband, but they weren't the same two people they had been the last time they had held each other.

Lucas took a long, deep breath. "Peyton," he sighed huskily, making her knees tremble slightly. It made both of them smile the tiniest bit, just knowing that, after all this time, he still had that effect on her. "What's wrong, Peyt?" he asked softly.

Tears instantly sprang back into Peyton's eyes. Sobs once again racked her body. She tried to answer, but all that came out was strangled cries. After a couple of minutes of calming breaths and a few kisses on her forehead from Lucas, Peyton managed to speak. "My dad."

Those two words made Lucas's world spin. He pulled Peyton even tighter too his body, if that was even possible. "What happened, Peyton?" he asked again.

Peyton looked Lucas straight in the eyes. She waited a moment and then spoke. When she did, her words came out in an eerie sort of calm.

"I'm an orphan, Luke. He died. I'm alone."

**Like I said, my writing was quite a bit better here.**

**So, I have a blog. I would love it if you checked out some of my writing. It is primarily for school, but I do other stuff too. . It would make me very happy to see some new subscribers to my blog.**

**Anyways, don't expect any updates immediately. I will try my best, but I am really busy.**

**Review telling me what you want to happen between Lucas and Peyton after this.**


	8. Chapter Eight

**I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know I can't say it enough times for it to actually mean anything, but I really am sorry. I wasn't even blocked. Just busy. This is my crazy season. Between school wrapping up and the dance competition season, I am starting to go crazy. I know that is no excuse, but I truly do wish to write more.**

**So this chapter was fun to write. I don't know how much it did for my plot, but I did enjoy writing it, and I hope you like reading it. I suggest you go back and read the last little bit of the previous chapter if you are a follower of There's Always a Reason, because I built a lot on the ending of the previous scene. I guess that it is because One Tree Hill is a television show, but I have been writing this story with very little room for interpretation of what the characters are doing and when. **

**I have an idea of where to go next, but let me know if you have any advice, or if you think you have a good way for me to end this story. How much longer do you want it to go on for?**

**Thank you for the reviews. It means the world to me. I love reviews. They inspire me to keep writing, and even if it does take a long time for me to update, it would take much much much longer if I didn't have reviews. I think this was a record. Ten reviews. Wow. Thank you.**

**Mina Louise Browning: I agree. I love the thought of Kayla hanging out with Alex and Chase and Mouth and Millie and even Mia and possibly even Lauren ( I don't remember what happened to her since the episode with the storm). I never thought of Kayla and Mouth. Thanks for the idea. That might actually inspire me.**

**Kit147: Once again, I love you very much. I am terribly sorry about how long the updates are taking. My life does not give much time for pleasure writing. I hope I am starting to give a bit more in the way of answers. The thing with story, though, is that I am basically doing a scene as each chapter, and it is pretty clear where it is going. I have said repeatedly that I like happily ever after.**

**OTHGirl24: Peyton and Lucas will be together, you will just have to see how they get there. I have one more scene between them already fully written in my head, but beyond that, ideas please.**

**RJMoonspell4: I am questioning it myself quite a lot, too. I really don't know if this is going anywhere.**

**Lukenpeyton4ever: Thank you for the update. Please keep reading.**

**Leyton03: I like them as a couple, too. Thanks for the review.**

**New2TreeHill: I'm really not a Haley fan either. I thought that Kayla was a good character to play off of everyone else because she can be whoever I need her to be. Who is to say how she would react in each situation I put her in.**

**LucasAndPeyton. TLA: Thanks for the review. I don't know how I am going to end this, or where Kayla will go in it, but right now, she is staying.**

**LukePeyTLA: Thank you very much. Your comment is actually what inspired this next chapter. Please, keep giving me advice and input. I love it. I really like playing Peyton as not so nice, because it gives a whole other dimension to her. And Lucas is the eternal good guy.**

**Grumpybear63087: First of all, I love your screen name. My aunt's best friend did the voice of Grumpy Bear and I grew up loving the Care Bears. Sorry. Random fact about Kelly. Thanks for the review. Fanfiction is defiantly the place to be.**

**Sorry again. Lots of reviews mean lots for me to reply to. I have nearly forty reviews now though. Please keep them coming in.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"I'm alone."

Peyton whispered it over and over again as if it was a mantra. She slowly pushed Lucas off of her and backed away, realizing the larger meaning of her words. She was alone. Not only was she an orphan, but she didn't have much family to speak of, and very few friends. She had thrown that all away the day she left Lucas.

Sighing deeply, Lucas took a step towards Peyton and grabbed her by the shoulders. His strong hands held her before him, and his blazing eyes held her gaze. He searched her eyes for some sort of recognition. He needed reassurance that the woman he had fallen in love with was still in there, somewhere.

They spoke at the same time, whispering each others' name. Peyton's voice was a warning; Lucas's sounded more like a plea. He wanted to hold on, and she wanted him to let go.

Of course, he gave her what she wanted. He let go over his wife and let her back out of the hallway. He let her walk away from him.

Again.

And then realization hit him. Sawyer was in the house. Peyton's daughter, who she had not seen in a month, was in the house, and the reunion between them was going to be delicate, to say the least. Lucas took off down the hallway, following Peyton's trail into the kitchen.

"Peyt, hold on," he yelled breathlessly as he ran into the kitchen. He rounded the corner and saw his wife crumpled on the floor in front of the refrigerator, curled up in a ball, her face in her hands. He took a moment to look at her, broken and crying, maybe the most vulnerable and torn apart he had ever seen her.

Peyton felt Lucas's stare and slowly tried to meet his gaze. She loved him for being there, but she was ashamed of how she was acting. She was supposed to be strong and independent and not need anything or anyone. He knew her better than that, though.

Taking a deep breath, Lucas took a few strides forwards, closing the distance between the pair, and slid down the refrigerator so he was sitting beside her. He pulled Peyton into his lap and held her against his chest. Both their bodies shook from her violent sobs.

He held her like that for what seemed like an eternity, thinking, wishing, hoping, and waiting. He knew the moment was going to end, and he couldn't begin to imagine what would happen next. Were they in love? Would they be together? Would they ever be again? He couldn't answer any of his questions, so instead he held his wife and prayed that the moment would last.

After a long time of silence, three simple words broke the stillness. "She's here, Luke." It wasn't a question, but Peyton still felt the need to get confirmation. With a gentle nod of his head, Lucas affirmed that Peyton's daughter was indeed in the house.

That was all she needed to hear. With that knowledge, Peyton aggressively tried to push Lucas away from herself. He knew her too well. He held her tightly, refusing to let go. They had to talk before he would allow her to see their daughter. Sawyer had suffered enough. She didn't need another disappointment,

Peyton wiped her eyes and began to throw weak, pathetic punches at Lucas's chest. "Let me go, Luke," she cried. "I mean it."

Using one hand, he grabbed onto both of her wrists. With the other, he pulled her head into his chest and kissed the top of her head. The tears began to fall again. "Hush, Peyt. Calm down," he whispered.

She lifted her head to look him straight in the eyes. "I am allowed to see her, Luke. I'm her mother." She managed to pull away from him and got to her feet.

Lucas stood up so that Peyton would not be able to look down on him. He tried to remove emotion from his voice, but when it came to Peyton, everything involved his emotions. Especially given the recent events. "You haven't been for the past while, Peyton." He tried to sound strong and firm in his words, but inside he was very afraid of saying something wrong. The last thing he wanted to do was send her running.

"I know," she whispered as she wiped her eyes. "But I am here now, and I want to see her."

"She is a child, Peyton, not a possession. You can't only care about her when it is convenient for you." Lucas was angry now. Did she not realize that Sawyer was beginning to forget who her mother was? Peyton was the only person to be blamed for that.

"It's not me who stopped caring," she screamed, talking about more than just Sawyer.

"I'm not innocent, Peyton. I know that." Lucas sighed. "I'm not the one who abandoned my family."

"I didn't leave her. You kept her from me," Peyton reminded him. Lucas hadn't trusted Peyton with Sawyer in her 'reckless state' so he had insisted on keeping her until Peyton was more stable.

"She belongs at my house."

"She should be with her mother."

"Which one?" Lucas asked. "You or Haley?"

"Excuse me?" Peyton shrieked.

"Well, which one has she seen every day? Which one has been missing for a month?"

Peyton recoiled, as if she had been slapped. "What are you talking about?" she demanded, tears streaming down her face.

"She thinks Haley is her mother," Lucas smirked with a cruel smile. "I don't blame her. Haley loves her. Haley is there for her. Honestly, I wish that Haley was her mother. She does a better job as an aunt than you do as Sawyer's real mother."

"And you are okay with her just forgetting me?"

"Sort of like how you forgot about her needs when you left me?"

This time, Lucas recoiled after Peyton did slap him. He put his hand up to his cheek and gave Peyton a look full of hurt and venom. "So this is it, Peyton? This is what we have been waiting for? We haven't talked in a really long time, and this is what our first conversation amounts to?"

Tears began to fall from Peyton's eyes. She said nothing, just looked at her feet, unable to meet Lucas's eyes. He was right. It was ridiculous that it had come to this. That they had come to this. She was ashamed. Of course it was her fault; that wasn't a question. But she hated seeing Lucas so hurt.

She still loved him, of course. Nothing was going to change that. She was just afraid that she had lost herself somewhere along the way while she was caught up in loving him. They were not the same to kids who had fallen in love ten years earlier. They were still a couple, and a pretty good match at that, but they had both changed. They had grown up, and maybe they had grown together, or maybe they had grown apart. But they had defiantly grown.

Peyton took a deep breath and tried to muster up the courage to meet her husband's eyes. "Luke," she began, but he cut her off.

"I can't do this Peyton," he sighed deeply. "My heart can't take it."

"I know," she said simply.

"I'm sorry that Larry is gone, Peyton. Believe me I am." Lucas took a long breath. "I can't only be here for you when you needed it." He stopped for a moment when he heard Peyton muttering under her breath.

"In sickness and in health," she mumbled, wiping her eyes.

"For better or for worse."

Peyton continued to try in vain to stop her tears from running down her face. "I can't get through this without you," she cried, slamming her fist weakly against his chest.

"I can't get through a day without you, Peyton, but I had to learn how to," Lucas replied coolly. He hated being this rude and cold to her, but he had no other way to protect his heart.

"And you think this has been easy for me?" Peyton shrieked, throwing more feeble punches at Lucas. You have at least had your house and your daughter and your family. I have nothing."

"You don't get it, do you Peyton?" Lucas grabbed her wrist and stared her straight in the eyes. "You have a home with me until the moment you don't want it any longer. That hasn't changed. You took off. I didn't change the locks. You still have a key. You could have returned any time you wanted to. But you didn't."

"I was afraid," she whispered, barley audibly.

He pretended he didn't hear her. "And when something went wrong in Peyton Sawyer's life, she went running to Nathan and Haley, not her husband." Peyton gasped quietly, but didn't elaborate. "What are you doing here, Peyton? I mean, except for causing drama."

With one last longing look, Peyton straightened her hair and wiped her eyes. She gathered up the mess that she made on the kitchen floor and headed towards the door, willing herself not to break down until she was out of the earshot of her husband.

"Peyton?"

Lucas's voice, now no more than a pleading whisper, caused her to stop. She didn't turn around.

Lucas continued, realizing that he wasn't going to get much more of a reaction from her. "I am your husband. By law, I have to love you. I never plan to go back on the vows I made to you three years ago. I just can't do this anymore. I don't want to." Lucas stopped to breath, and he watched Peyton slowly turn around. "For better and for worse means that we need each other every day, not just on the hard days. I want every day. That is what I signed up for when I proposed to you. I can't only be your husband when you want me to be. I won't do that, not anymore."

"Lucas, please," Peyton cried.

He walked past her in the hallway and opened the door. "I don't want to do this anymore."

"Please." Peyton tried again, begging her husband for another chance, even though she knew that she ran out of chances a long time prior. She gently placed her hand on Lucas's still red cheek, feeling the heat from where she had hit him.

He grabbed her hand and pulled it off of his face, letting it fall to her side. He opened the door for her, wider still, indicating that it was time for her to go. She walked silently through the threshold, biting back the tears that were trying to fall.

Before shutting the door behind his wife, Lucas smiled sadly.

"I truly am sorry about Larry, Peyton. He was the only family you had left."

**So, what do you think? Not my best, but I am happy with it. I mean I am not happy with Peyton and Lucas, but in my mind, that is what they would do in that situation.**

**Do you like? I tried to tie up loose ends. No more cliff hangers. But I am an artist. I like dramatic endings.**

**Review with what you want to happen with Kayla next.**

**It can involve Peyton, Lucas, or Sawyer, but it doesn't have to. I think that she is ready to have some of her own drama; I just don't know what yet.**

**I love reviews.**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Look whose back.**

**I am so sorry. I k now it has been forever, but this was simply the chapter that I could not write. I had too many directions I could take and not enough ideas for the future of the story and this is what I ended up with. I hope you like it. I am not madly in love with it, but it will suffice, and I hope your reaction to it is better than mine was.**

**I am not going to use up time replying to every review individually, because, although I really really appreciate them, I think you would rather I not take another day respond to the six reviews I got. So, once again, I apologize, but I am doing this in bulk.**

**THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS!**

**That is all.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

The sound of car doors slamming and an engine roaring to life caused Haley and Kayla to exchange worried glances. They listened for the sound of tires down the driveway, and sighed simultaneously.

Then the war began in the kitchen.

Sawyer began to cry as the four people in the living room heard Lucas's screams. Haley pulled the two children to her body when she began to hear objects crashing against the kitchen wall. Glass shattered, curses exploded from Lucas's mouth, and Kayla and Haley were torn as to what to do.

And then there was silence.

The silence was broke by a terrible sob coming from the kitchen.

Urging Kayla forward, Haley took the hands of her son and her niece and led them out the back door. Both of the kids were in tears, simply from fear of Luke.

Lucas looked up when he heard footsteps approaching him, and the cast his eyes at the floor the moment he saw who it was.

"We meet again, Lucas Scott," Kayla said softly, trying to break the ice.

Lucas took a deep breath. "If you are expecting me to thank you then you are going to be waiting for a very long time." He raised his gaze to meet hers. His eyes were filled with venom and malice. "This is your fault."

"I think I can live with myself knowing that it is my fault that you got to finally hold your wife in your arms again."

"Don't be a bitch, Kayla. You know what I mean." Lucas's voice was like ice.

Kayla sat down on the floor beside her cousin-in-law. "I'm impressed," she began. "You are really good at holding in your emotions."

"Thank you."

"If I didn't know any better, from the way you are acting I would say that you didn't care much that she just walked out on you. Again." She was not giving him a compliment.

"How dare you?" Lucas exploded. "You think I don't care? You think that I have no emotions? Did you ever think that maybe I just don't want my daughter to see both of her parents so destroyed and vulnerable? Who are you to judge me?"

Kayla laughed for a moment, although the situation was not funny in the slightest. "I just wanted that to happen so that you don't bite my head off with what I am about to say." After Lucas took a deep, calming breath, looking at the girl incredulously, she continued. "You have to fix this, Luke. I know-"

"Shut up, Kayla." He cut her off. He didn't want to hear any of her shit, defending Peyton for everything she did. This was Peyton's battle, and he couldn't do that much about it except pray that it wasn't over between them.

Kayla rolled her eyes. She knew this was going to happen. "Hear me out. Please. Do you love your wife?"

"You asked me that earlier today."

"Just answer the goddamn question."

"Yes, I love my wife."

"Do you want her to come back to you?"

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Where is this going, Kayla?"

"Do you want her to come back to you?" she repeated, ignoring his comment.

"Yes."

"Do you think she would honestly come back to you on her own?"

Lucas was silent for a long minute. He could lie to himself and say that he thought she would return to him, but everyone knew she was too afraid to do it on her own. "No," he choked out after a moment.

"What are you going to do about it?" With that, Kayla squeezed Lucas's hand, which she hadn't know she had been holding, stood up, and left the kitchen.

Lucas needed time with his thoughts. He was a writer, after all. Most of his world took place in his head. The rest of it, he admitted to himself, involved a certain blonde, long-legged woman and their daughter. And now he had to figure out how to bring her back to him.

And that is where he hit the Peyton Wall. Brooke had once called it that when he couldn't come to a decision about her. He couldn't decide on anything without her input.

That was his problem. It wasn't really much of a choice. He knew exactly what he had to do; he just didn't know how to catch his wife alone at a time when her emotions were not running wild. He internally kicked himself for that thought. Of course her emotions were going crazy. She just found out her father was dead, for Christ's sake. And then she had a huge fight with her estranged husband. She had every right to be a mess.

And still, Lucas placed Peyton on a pedestal, wanting her to be braver than he knew he could ever be.

He walked cautiously into the living room and called out to Kayla. "Give me your number, Kay. I might need your help with something." He tossed his Blackberry to the brunette on the couch.

Adding her information to his contacts, she gave him a warning. "I'm on Team Sawyer, okay? As much as I love Peyton, and as much as I am sure I would love you if I knew you well, that kid is what I worry about the most. You two can deal with your problems on your own. I have never doubted that. You just have a very long timeline because you know you will wait for each other forever. But Sawyer doesn't have that same sense of time. She needs to grow up with two parents. I am on Team Lucas and Peyton, not your side or her side."

Lucas reached out to retrieve his cell phone. "Thank you. I guess I have been so caught up in Peyton that I have been neglecting Sawyer. She needs someone like you in her life. I think we all do."

"Well, that is what you have Haley for."

Lucas smirked. "Haley is the stable one now? What has the world come to?"

"And you think that I am stable?" Kayla rolled her eyes.

"Except for the creepy fan girl thing you did earlier, I would say you seem very stable and exceedingly sane for a writer," Lucas said earnestly.

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Have you learned nothing from the past decade with Peyton? A Sawyer girl showing up with no notice is never a sign of stability."

"So what's your story, Sawyer?"

"The usual," she said with a sad smile. "Shitty parents, a cheating boyfriend, a bitch of a best friend. I clearly fit in well around here."

"How can you be so nonchalant about it?" Lucas wanted in on her secret to her calm, smooth exterior.

"There is nothing I can do about it, is there?"

"I suppose not."

"And that is the difference between my situation and yours."

"Lucky me," Lucas said sarcastically.

"You're an ass. You know that, Luke?" Kayla laughed as she playfully punched him on the shoulder. She smiled at him, and then sighed sadly.

"What?" he asked with genuine concern.

Kayla shook her head quickly. "It's just – this is how it should be, you know?"

"How what should be?"

"Life," she began bluntly. "Friends, family, happiness, an adorable hometown to come back to. I've never had that, and I'm beginning to think that maybe I won't get it."

Lucas sighed. "Kayla-"

"You know why I started writing?" she asked out of the blue. She didn't wait for an answer. "I created friends for myself when I had none. Growing up, my best friends in New York lived in my laptop. I created Greenmont as a way to keep that part of my life from my parents. It was mine, you know? I wanted it to have my own name on it, not my family's. And then my books took off and it all went to hell."

"Kayla-"

She cut him off again. "How do you all do it?" She began to cry softly. "How do you know who is only in it for the free stuff and the glamorous life? You know what it's like. How did Haley do it? And Mia and Alex and Nathan and Brooke? I don't know how to judge a real friend versus a fake one because I don't know what a real friend is like."

"Kayla, shut up. You're what? Twenty-four? You have plenty of time for love and work and friends and life." Lucas placed a hand on either of Kayla's shoulders and held her at arm's length. "And Tree Hill is, and always will be, a home for you. Peyton is here for you. Brooke is here for you. Mia is here for you. Hell, I am even here for you. I don't know what this is really, but somehow you feel like a sister to me. Kind of like Brooke. Anyways, the point is, you have a home here." He pulled her to his chest in a tight, very siblingish hug.

She pulled away after a moment and quickly wiped her eyes. Kayla hated to look weak. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Seeing as your ride left a while ago let me drive you home. Or at least to Brooke's place. That's where you are staying, right?" Lucas asked.

She smiled, and then thought about how much she hated Peyton right then. Lucas was a really great guy, and Peyton was a really big bitch. Why could she not see what was right in front of her? "That would be great."

Lucas called out to Haley that he was leaving, found his keys, and led Kayla to the door. Silently they climbed into Lucas's Mustang and began to drive.

It was a comfortable silence, both knowing there was a lot to say, but that it wasn't necessary to talk. Lucas was eventually the one to break the stillness. "Does Brooke even have enough space for you over there?"

"What?" Kayla replied, oh so eloquently.

"I mean Julian just moved in, Peyton is staying there, and now you are too?"

"Well, where else am I to go?"

"I suppose you're right. I would say there is space at my house, but that might be kind of awkward considering the current status of my marriage," Lucas said awkwardly.

Kayla laughed for a moment. "It's fine, Luke. Thanks, though." They fell back into silence for another couple minutes before Kayla broke it with news from New York.

"Lindsey says hi."

"Excuse me?"

"She sends her love."

"Kayla Greemont. You are the selfish bitch she complains about, right?" Lucas laughed.

"The one and only. And don't you forget it," she said with a bitchy smirk.

"Seriously, though, Kayla? How is Lindsey doing?" Despite what he wanted to believe, he did still care about her. After all, if she hadn't walked out on him at the altar, he wouldn't have a beautiful wife and daughter.

Kayla rolled her eyes. "She is Lindsey. I don't know. She is cynical and lonely and just like she has always been. Except lonely. Very, very lonely."

Lucas took a deep breath. "Kayla, why did Peyton go to Haley and Nate when she heard about her dad? Why didn't she come to me?"

She had been waiting for that question the whole car ride. "She knew you would be there."

Lucas wasn't expecting that one. "How?"

"I don't know how to tell you this, Luke, and it really isn't my secret to tell, but I think you deserve to know after what happened today." Kayla breathed deeply before continuing. "Peyton," she began, choosing her words very carefully. "Well, she hasn't been doing well since, you know, she moved to Brooke's place. She doesn't really sleep. She doesn't feel safe. And Brooke wasn't too keen on a huge bulldog being painted on her wall, so Haley and Peyton made a little arrangement. You would bring Sawyer over to Haley's and Haley would call Peyton. And Peyton would have a few hours to go to your house, curl up in the bed you shared, and feel safe. She had just been at your house." Kayla sighed, and felt instantly guilty. "That is how she knew."

The Tree Hill streets flew past as Lucas silently stared ahead for a few minutes. "All this time I thought I was just imagining her perfume," was all he said.

Kayla laughed lightly, trying to brighten the dark mood that had suddenly taken over the car. "Well at least you aren't as crazy as you thought you were."

"Thank you for telling me."

"She loves you, Lucas."

"I know. That is why it hurts so much that she only comes home when she knows I won't be there."

The car stopped and Kayla realized they were in front of Brooke's house. She also noticed the black convertible parked in the driveway. The atmosphere in the Mustang suddenly became very tense.

"I'm not going in there," Lucas said finally, know that Kayla was wondering what he was going to do. "She needs time and space and to just be with herself for a little while, and I need to give her that."

"I understand."

"I will call you if I need your help."

"Likewise," was all she said as she got out of the car and headed towards the disaster that she knew was waiting for her on the other side of Brooke's front door.

**So, like I said, crappy chapter.**

**Please, please, please tell me what you think about it. Remember, you lovely reviewers tell me that my writing is appreciated, which inclines me to write more often. It also probably improves my quality of writing.**

**Procrastination helps too, but not the point.**

**I feel like I owe you all something for taking so long to update, so tell me.**

**What should happen next?**


	10. Author's Note

I am so sorry. I know you all have been patiently waiting for an update, and I know how frustrating that can be. And I know how much it sucks to think your favourite story has an update, when really it is just an author's note. So I apologize. Honestly, it is probably more frustrating as a writer, when I have tried over and over and over again to begin the next chapter, but I just can't do it. And as more time passes by, and now that the series is over, there are too many things that I had anticipated using in my story that are impossible because of new developments in the plot of One Tree Hill. I am never one to be able to pretend things aren't like they are and just write my own fantasy around them. So I am sorry. For now, at least, There's Always a Reason will not be finished. Just know that I do like happy endings, and if anyone wants to take this plot or ideas from this plot and make it your own, I have no problem with that. Just let me know first so I can follow your story, too. It breaks my heart to write this, but I know that it is better to give you this than to give you nothing at all and leave you waiting and wondering forever. And too my faithful readers, yes, I must be crazy to walk away from you. I established a following with this story, even when it took me months to update, and I am an idiot for letting you down and walking away from you. I can't imagine that I will find followers like you in any other fanfiction I ever write, and I truly will miss the support. So for now this is good-bye.

Send me a review or a message if you want to use this idea or anything fueled by this story. Or if you have stories you think I might like, because I would love to read your work. And if you want to know how I planned for this story to end, let me know and I will be happy to tell you.

Goodbye for now.

KellyBallerina.


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